An American influencer who caused outrage by snatching a baby wombat from its mother has left Australia – amid concerns the “disorientated” marsupial may not have refound its parent.

Sam Jones, who describes herself as an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter”, left the country on Friday after the Australian government said it was reviewing her visa.

In a now-deleted video to her 92,000 followers on Instagram, recorded at an unknown location, Jones says: “I caught a baby wombat” as a man filming her laughs.

She returns the animal to the roadside after several seconds.

Now, there are concerns the baby wombat may have been left to fend for itself – and an animal welfare expert has warned it has a potentially fatal skin disease.

Yolandi Vermaak, founder of animal care charity Wombat Rescue, said separating the youngster from its mother created a risk the parent would reject her offspring.

“My biggest concern is that we didn’t actually see mum and baby getting reunited,” Ms Vermaak said.

“When she put it down, it looked disorientated. It was turned away from where the mother was last seen. So we don’t know if mum and baby actually found each other again.”

Ms Vermaak said Ms Jones should say where she left the wombat after the video showed the joey had a skin disease.

“The baby has mange and it’s a matter of time before it dies of mange, so it’s important for us to find where this happened and to get this baby and its mum treated as soon as possible,” Ms Vermaak said.

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Ms Jones’s actions drew fierce criticism from politicians. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said she had clearly caused “distress” in the marsupial’s mother and described her behaviour as “just an outrage”.

Home affairs minister Tony Burke, speaking after a government official confirmed Ms Jones had left the country voluntarily, said: “There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia.”

Previously, he said he could not wait for “Australia to see the back of this individual”.

The wombat appears to be a common wombat, also known as a bare-nosed wombat. It is found only in Australia and is a protected marsupial.

Ms Jones, who also uses the name Samantha Strable, closed her social media channels to messages and could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Tesla, run by Donald Trump cheerleader Elon Musk, has warned US officials it risks being exposed to “disproportionate” retaliatory tariffs under the president’s escalating trade war.

The electric carmaker raised the issue in a letter to the US Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) Office on the same day Mr Trump bought a Tesla car in a show of support for his close ally after a bloodbath for the company’s shares.

Investor concerns, mostly linked to the trade war, have pushed Tesla’s market value 50% down from its December peak – a hit of roughly £800bn.

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The backlash against the trade war intensified this week when Tesla suffered its worst daily loss in five years as part of broader stock market falls on fears that US consumers and businesses are now facing the prospect of a recession.

The declines at Tesla were also linked by market analysts to domestic anger over Mr Musk‘s work in government to shrink its size through leadership of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Tesla’s letter was one in a growing mailbag, with businesses widely complaining about the threat of rising costs and red tape.

It was not clear who wrote the Tesla document, as it was unsigned, but it stated it was important to ensure that the Trump
administration’s efforts to address trade issues “do not inadvertently harm US companies”.

Tesla said it wanted to avoid retaliation of the type it faced in prior trade disputes, which resulted in increased
tariffs on electric vehicles imported into countries subject to US tariffs.

Canada and the EU are among nations to have responded with counter measures after US tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports came into effect this week.

“US exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to US trade actions,”
Tesla said in the letter.

“For example, past trade actions by the United States have resulted in immediate reactions by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on EVs imported into those countries.”

Mr Trump is considering imposing significant tariffs on vehicles and parts made around the world in early April.

Such duties were initially confined to Canada and Mexico but later mostly suspended for four weeks amid complaints from US carmakers.

The president has said they will return on 2 April, alongside “reciprocal” tariffs which are widely expected to hit the European Union for the first time.

Tesla’s letter warned that protectionist policies designed to bolster US manufacturing and jobs were further harmful as “certain parts and components are difficult or impossible to source within the United States”.

It called for a phased approach to allow more time to bolster supply chains.

“As a US manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices,” the EV maker concluded.

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The document builds on wider pressure to force a U-turn, with industry body Autos Drive America declaring this week that the tariff regime will harm production and earnings, with sales also set to face challenges as tariff costs are reflected in prices.

“Automakers cannot shift their supply chains overnight, and cost increases will inevitably lead to some combination of higher consumer prices, fewer models offered to consumers and shut-down US production lines, leading to
potential job losses across the supply chain,” it wrote.

Donald Trump has said he thinks the US will annex Greenland, days after the country’s incoming prime minister said: “We don’t want to be Americans.”

During an Oval Office meeting with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, the US president was asked about his hopes to annex Greenland.

“I think that will happen,” he said. “I didn’t give it much thought before, but I’m sitting with a man who could be very instrumental.

“You know Mark, we need that for international security. We have a lot of our favourite players cruising around the coast and we have to be careful.”

Mr Trump questioned Denmark’s claim to the autonomous territory, saying Denmark was “very far away” from Greenland despite being part of the country’s kingdom.

“A boat landed there 200 years ago or something. They say they have rights to it,” Mr Trump said. “I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t think it is, actually.”

He said the US already has a military presence in Greenland and added: “Maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers going there.”

It comes after Greenland’s centre-right party won an election in a result seen as a rejection of Mr Trump’s interference in the island’s politics.

The Demokraatit party favours a slow move towards independence from Denmark – with its leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen telling Sky News on the eve of the election “we want to build our own country by ourselves”.

In his White House news briefing Mr Trump claimed the election result was very good for the US and said “the person who did the best is a very good person as far as we’re concerned.”

Mr Trump also reacted to Vladimir Putin’s remarks about Russia agreeing to an end in fighting in Ukraine, but adding “lots of questions” remain over proposals for a 30-day ceasefire.

The US president said his Russian counterpart’s statement was not complete and reiterated his willingness to talk to him, adding: “Hopefully Russia will do the right thing.”