An American tourist who fled Australia after sparking outrage for grabbing a baby wombat says she is “truly sorry”, while revealing an excuse for her actions.

Samantha Strable, who uses the name Sam Jones online, sparked a storm of controversy after video of her manhandling the native marsupial went viral late last week.

On Saturday (AEDT), Strable posted a lengthy explanation to Instagram, claiming she was trying to help the young marsupial.

The hunter also revealed that “thousands” of people had threatened her life over the incident.

“When we found the mother and joey on a road, not moving, I was extremely concerned,” wrote Strable.

“As wombats are so often hit on Australian roads, I stopped to ensure they got off the road safely and didn’t get hit.

“I was concerned it may have been sick or injured, and made a snap judgement to pick up the joey and 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 judgement I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey.”

Strable claims she quickly looked over the joey and immediately returned it to its mother.

“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 should have.

“I have learned from this situation, and am truly sorry for the distress I have caused.”

Strable said she was not motivated by getting likes on social media, but had acted too quickly in her “excitement and concern”.

Influencer Sam Strable posts photos of herself hunting. Photo: Instagram

Strable, who promotes herself as a “wildlife biologist and environmental scientist”, shared the footage with her 90,000-plus followers in an Instagram reel last week.

It showed her running across a country road to grab the baby wombat, while an Australian man laughed as he filmed the scene.

Strable runs back toward the unidentified man holding the clearly distressed wombat. As its feet dangle in the air, the man is heard saying:“Look at the mother, it’s chasing after her!”

Amid the backlash, Strable’s Instagram account was made private – although she claimed on Friday it had been banned. It had featured mostly images of her posing with dead animals she claims to have hunted.

Strable had written in the caption of the original reel that it was her “dream” to hold a baby wombat.

While the video does not show the mother and baby wombat reunited, the caption said “baby and mom slowly waddled back off together into the bush”.

None of that stopped the torrent of disapproval, with even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese weighing in.

“To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother, is just an outrage,” he said on Thursday.

“I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might 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 baby wombat from its mother.”

Strable took aim at Albanese in her response on Saturday and claimed that the Australian government “allows and permits the slaughter of wombats”.

“While the prime minister wishes harm on me for picking up a wombat, I implore you to take a good, hard, look at what is currently being done in Australia,” said Jones.

On Friday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Strable of a “cruel act”.

“I’m glad that the influencer has now left. But I’m not going to give more publicity to somebody who craves it,” he said.

On Thursday, Strable apologised in a brief statement on TikTok.

“Guys … I’m really sorry about the wombat incident. It was a mistake. I’m a professional and all the people hating, it’s enough. I learned my lesson,” she wrote.

She claimed to have held the baby marsupial for only “one minute in total” before returning it to its mother. The pair then “wandered back off into the bush together”.

On Friday, Strable wrote that “social media is getting too much right now”.

“I might take a small break. Love my fans,” she said.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Thursday that Strable’s visa was under review to determine if she’d breached immigration laws.

“Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers,” he said.

“I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don’t expect she will return.”

All Australian native animals are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Penalties for animal cruelty offences vary by state, with fines reaching as high as $235,600 for individuals and $250,000 for corporations, along with potential imprisonment of up to seven years.