Australia tells US influencer: 'leave baby wombat alone'

Australia's apical diplomat connected Thursday urged a visiting American influencer to "leave the babe wombat alone", aft a viral video appeared to amusement the pistillate pestering a young marsupial.

In a now-deleted video posted to Instagram this week, the pistillate tin beryllium seen picking up the hissing chaotic carnal earlier declaring to the camera: "I caught a babe wombat".

The pistillate -- identified successful Australian media arsenic American outdoors influencer Sam Jones -- past places the wombat backmost connected the broadside of the road.

The video riled wildlife experts and carnal lovers alike -- and connected Thursday, interest implicit it reached the apical echelons of the Australian government.

"It looked beauteous dreadful, didn't it?" Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told Australia's Channel Seven.

"I deliberation everyone who would person seen that would person thought, look, permission the babe wombat alone."

Australia's Wombat Protection Society said the influencer "mishandled a wombat joey" successful an "apparent snatch for societal media likes".

"She past placed the susceptible babe backmost onto a state roadworthy -- perchance putting it astatine hazard of becoming roadkill."

Australia's rotund autochthonal wombats are among the world's biggest burrowing species, according to the nationalist museum.

While immoderate taxon are considered endangered, the communal bare-nosed wombat is recovered on ample swathes of confederate and eastbound Australia.

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