A US influencer who posted a Tiktok video of her taking a baby wombat from its distressed mother says she is "truly sorry" and that she has been inundated with death threats.
Sam Jones, who has 95,000 followers on Instagram, was visiting Australia at the time of the incident.
She says she found the mother wombat with her joey on a road "not moving" and became concerned, as the animals are often struck by traffic.
Jones filmed herself laughing and joking as she ran off with the baby wombat to the other side of the road, leaving its distressed mother behind, while showing off the animal to the camera.
Laughing and joking with a male companion, Jones looked calm and relaxed in the video - despite the act showing her breaking Australian laws as wombats are a protected species. She eventually let the creature go and it scurried back into the shelter.
Jones received a heavy backlash, including from Australian PM Anthony Albanese who challenged her to "take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there".
Foreign minister Penny Wong also called her actions “dreadful,” and opposition leader Peter Dutton said that it was “a cruel act”.
In a long post on Instagram, Jones attempted to explain her actions, while lashing out at the Australian government over its periodic culling of animals including wombats.
She wrote: "As is seen from the video, when I walked up to them, the joey did not move or run off. I was concerned it may have been sick or injured, and made a snap judgment to pic up the joey to see if this was the case.
"I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me. The snap judgment I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey.
"While I was unbelievably excited to see such an amazing animal, I looked it over quickly and immediately returned it to its mother. I ensured that the mother and joey did reunite, went off together, and that they got off the road.
"I have done a great deal of reflection on this situation and have realised that I did not handle this situation as best as I could have."
She added the video was "not staged, nor was it done for entertainment", and that she "acted too quickly and failed to provide necessary context to viewers online".
A latter part of her statement was largely devoted to criticising the Australian government over its animal culling laws, which have included wombats, kangaroos, horses, deer and pigs.
Australia's culling laws are a divisive issue within society, that have sparked fierce debate. Wombats are protected as a native breed, but permits can be sought to cull them in certain circumstances.
An online petition calling for Jones' deportation from Australia attracted over 40,000 signatures, while Home Affairs minister Tony Burke said his department was assessing whether her visa could be revoked.
It is understood Jones, who also goes by the name Samantha Strable, has already left Australia.
