Samantha Strable: US influencer who snatched baby wombat in viral incident jailed for hunting violation

A wombat-snatching influencer who sparked national outrage has been sentenced to jail — but not for her viral actions Down Under.

Known online as Sam Jones, influencer Samantha Strable found herself in the middle of a media storm back in March 2025 after a video of her taking a wombat joey away from its distressed mother went viral.

More than a year after the saga threw the influencer into the spotlight, she has found herself behind bars over another animal bungle in the US.

Strable — who has described herself as a “wildlife biologist” and “environmentalist” — was sentenced in a Wyoming court on Thursday for committing a hunting violation.

It is understood the 26-year-old was found guilty of hunting without a guide.

She was sentenced to 180 days’ imprisonment over the violation, which was suspended by the judge, and was ordered to pay $800 in fines.

The influencer will remain on probation for 12 months.

Strable was initially facing eight separate charges over the Wyoming hunting incident, but prosecutors dropped seven after she accepted a plea deal.

Strable’s attorney, Nate Jeppsen, reportedly told the court that his client wasn’t “intentionally trying to violate Wyoming game laws” but “should have been aware” of her responsibility to the state’s hunting laws.

While she has been an influencer for several years, Strable gained international attention in March 2025 after sharing an Instagram video while holidaying in Australia.

The now-deleted video saw her catching a wombat joey during the night at an unidentified roadside and running with it while it tried to wriggle out of her arms, clearly distressed.

Her Instagram post sparked immediate backlash across Australia, with thousands reporting the social media personality for “animal abuse” and calling on the government to deport her over the act.

As ire continued over Strable’s wombat controversy, Australian leader Anthony Albanese publicly branded the footage an “outrage” and challenged the influencer to “try some other Australian animals”.

“Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a wombat from its mother. See how you go there,” the Prime Minister said at the time.

The Australian government announced they were reviewing the influencer’s visa after the footage gained media coverage, but Strable fled the country before a decision was made.

The 26-year-old later hit back at the backlash in an online statement, claiming she was scapegoated for “clickbait” and pointing to Australia’s culling laws and the legal destruction of habitat for profit.

Strable said she’s not against the legal culling of native animals in Australia, but is instead “against the hypocrisy”.

“Thousands of wombats are LEGALLY killed across Australia each year. That does NOT make my actions right, but you deserve to know,” she said in a post titled ‘Am I a Villain?’.

She was not charged with any wrongdoing over the wombat incident.