Latest news with #🐊🦘😳
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Yahoo
US tourist Sam Jones who snatched baby wombat 'accepts accountability' in message to Australia
An 'incredible mistake' is how Sam Jones describes the moment she snatched a baby wombat from its mother and uploaded video of the incident to her 92,000 Instagram subscribers. Everyday Aussies, international media, and even the Prime Minister were scathing of her actions, and she left the country as the Department of Home Affairs announced it was investigating her visa. From a secret overseas location on Sunday, the American tourist issued a video statement saying she doesn't 'expect sympathy'. 'I will learn from this moment, and move forward. I accept accountability for my own actions, yet refuse to be used as a scapegoat for a far greater, far more uncomfortable reality,' she added. Related: Australia faces 'big problem' as US tourist who snatched baby wombat flees Since her video was published last week, Jones, who is also known as Samantha Strable, has received thousands of messages of abuse and multiple threats from people she's never met. And while that's been hard to face, there's been one thing from the furore that's given her hope. 'If this situation has proven anything, it's that Australians care deeply about their wildlife – and that is something I intensely admire,' she said. Wanting to turn her 'error of judgement' into something positive, Jones is now hoping to refocus the global attention she's receiving on the bigger problems Australia's wildlife faces. She doesn't think most Aussies know just how many native animals are culled every year because they compete with industry, or are in the way of development. For instance, in 2023, licensed private landholders were given permits by state governments to kill at least 1.2 million native animals. This included 3,558 wombats, 580,695 native birds and 419,120 kangaroos and wallabies. The issue Jones has raised is one that many Australian wildlife advocates are concerned about. Five years ago in South Australia, the government issued a permit for landholders to kill 200 rare hairy-nosed wombats and the animals were only spared after the landholder rethought the plan. Over in NSW, the state's most important population of endangered koalas are currently being displaced by new developments. And in Tasmania, even black swans are permitted to be culled. 🦈 Bali diver's 'face off with great white shark 🐣 Once common Aussie bird among 21 new species facing extinction ☠️ Photos reveal grim 'clean up' as koalas flee secretive highway project View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sam Jones (@samstrays_somewhere) 'Consider applying the same momentum used to condemn me toward examining the laws that allow for the legal slaughter of the very species and wombats people so deeply wish to protect,' Jones said. 'Outrage should not be selective.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Yahoo
Aussie gardeners warned after bizarre accident sees deadly creature 'chopped in half'
Aussie gardeners are being urged to take care when mowing the grass or trimming their edges after a 'sad' discovery in a western Sydney backyard. Reptile catcher Chris Williams warns snakes surprisingly still pose a danger to humans even if they've been cut in half. Video supplied by his company, Urban Reptile Removal, shows a red-bellied black snake continuing to writhe on the ground and strike after it had suffered a mortal injury inflicted by a homeowner. 'This snake was accidentally cut in half around 10 minutes ago. People would look at it and think, OK that's the end of it,' he says before picking it up. 'But a snake like this can still bite and still inject venom. And there have been several instances where people have been envenomated and ended up incredibly sick from a snake in this position.' Related: 🐍 Warning to residents in new Aussie development after deadly discovery Cold-blooded reptiles have a slower metabolism than warm-blooded mammals, so death for them can take hours. It's not uncommon to find turtles, lizards and snakes struggling on the roadside hours after they've been severely injured by a vehicle strike. Most of the calls Williams receives about snakes cut in two are linked to lawn mower or whipper snipper accidents. But the incident he attended at Stanhope Gardens last week occurred in more unusual circumstances. 'They'd originally seen the snake in the foyer of their home, and tracked it into a cupboard under the stairs. Sadly, about a minute before I arrived, it was leaving their home and they slammed the screen door on it and chopped him in half,' Williams told Yahoo. ☺️ Aussies urged to fit $7 'lifesaving' Bunnings device to homes 🔎 12,000km outback search for eight missing rare animals ☠️ Call for answers after poison found buried in endangered predator's habitat All native reptiles are protected and it's illegal to harm them. Snake bites are rare in Australia, but when they do occur, the victims are overwhelmingly men who try to move or kill them. Williams receives several calls a year, from NSW residents who have accidentally killed a snake while gardening. It's important people don't try and move injured venomous snakes themselves as the snake will be traumatised and dangerous. But also in need of medical attention. 'If it can be treated by a vet, that's our first course of action. If that's not possible, sadly the snake needs to be euthanised,' he said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
