CNN
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An American tourist who caused uproar after picking up and running off with a baby wombat in Australia has said she is “truly sorry” for the incident, saying she was acting out of concern for the young animal’s welfare.
A video shared widely on social media shows Sam Jones, who has 95,600 Instagram followers, running with the wombat towards a car while its distressed mother chases after her.
Jones smiles as she holds the wriggling animal, saying “I caught a baby wombat.”
The footage horrified Australians – some of whom called for Jones to be deported – with the country’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing the incident as “just an outrage.”
In a statement posted online Friday, Jones said: “I have learned from this situation, and am truly sorry for the distress I have caused.”
She posted the statement to an Instagram account that had been set to private after the incident. When she made it public again, hundreds of previous posts had been deleted.
“When we 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 safety and didn’t get hit,” Jones said.
Upon closer inspection, the joey was motionless and, fearing for the animal’s condition, Jones made a “snap judgement to pick up the joey,” she said.
“I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me,” Jones added.
Jones said in her apology that she returned the wombat to its mother immediately after her inspection and ensured that the pair were safely off the road.
Experts say the animals in the video were common wombats, the only one of three species of the Australian marsupial which is not threatened or endangered. But like all Australian native animals, they are protected by law.
On Friday it was confirmed Jones had voluntarily left the country, after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said her visa would be canceled if she was found to have breached the conditions of her stay.
“There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,” Burke said following the news of Jones’ departure.