An American influencer issued an apology on Friday after receiving major backlash from a since-deleted video that showed her taking a baby wombat away from its mother, now claiming that she did so out of concern for the animal’s well being.
Sam Jones, who formerly described herself as a “wildlife biologist and environmental scientist” to her tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, shared a clip that showed her laughing and grabbing the screaming baby wombat, or joey, running away as the baby’s mother pursues her. She later brings the joey back to its mother.
“My dream of holding a wombat has been realised!” Jones reportedly captioned the video.
The clip sparked widespread outrage, including criticism from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said Jones should try to take a baby away from an animal that “can actually fight back,” the BBC reported.
“Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there,” Albanese said.
Australian officials were even considering revoking her visa or banning her from the country, but she has since left Australia voluntarily, the Associated Press reported.
On Friday, Jones posted a statement on Instagram, saying that she and the person who shot the video had found the mother and joey “on a road, not moving.”
“I was extremely concerned. As wombats are so often hit on Australian roads, I stopped to ensure they got off the road safely and didn’t get hit. However, as is seen from the video, when I walked up to them, the joey did not move or run off,” Jones wrote. “I was concerned it may have been sick or injured, and made snap judgement to pick up the joey and see if this was the case.”
She continued, “I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me. The snap judgement I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey.”
The influencer said she “ensured that the mother and joey did reunite, went off together, and that they got off the road.”
Jones added that she “learned” from the situation and is “truly sorry” for the distress she caused.
“I have done a great deal of reflection on this situation and have realized that I did not handle this situation as best as I should have.” Jones said. “Regardless, my only intent was to prevent these amazing animals from being hit, and making sure the joey wasn’t in need of immediate care.”
In a separate post that same day, Jones asked her followers “Am I a villain?” and said that thousands of people had threatened her life over holding the wombat.
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She then deflected onto the Australian government for permitting “the slaughter of wombats,” an apparent reference to policies that allow property owners to obtain licenses to kill the marsupials.
“While the prime minister wishes harm on me for picking up a wombat, I implore you to take a good, hard look at what is currently being done in Australia surrounding the real issues it faces, the lack of power for tens of thousands of Aussies, and the treatment of its native wildlife.” Jones wrote. “Then decide for yourself, if I, a person who certainly makes mistakes, am really your villain. ”