Reddit Investors Use Gamestop Funds To Help Protect Thousands of Gorillas, Other Animals

Not all heroes wear capes, or suits. Wall Street Bet’s investors have spent some of their gains on donations for endangered animals including – gorillas, turtles, wolves, and elephants.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent helping endangered animals by users of Reddit’s WallStreetBets subreddit trading community, giving animal conservation organizations and the animals renewed hope after a rough year, The Guardian reported.

WallStreetBets subreddit, earlier this year bought small volumes of shares in the retailer GameStop en masse causing the price to drastically increase due to the number of shorts on the stock.

Many small investors have decided to spend at least some of their gains on animal protection centers worldwide in a show of philanthropy and probably to offset some of those gains for tax purposes.

A few donations were made out to the following organizations, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund which received more than 3,500 adoptions worth $350,000 (£252,000.) Gorillas were also adopted at the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga national park.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which runs an orphaned elephant rescue center in Kenya, was also included and received an unusual $10,000 rise in donations. Other organizations that benefited from donors include – Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy and the Australia-based Orangutan Project.

Redditors also adopted pangolins, lynx, wolves, bears, bulls, sea life, and polar bears according to The Guardian.

Of course, in typical Wall St Bets fashion, the group trolled hedge funds. Many of the donations were written out to fictional names, including “F*ck Melvin capital” and “Jim Cramer’s Tears.” Trolling aside, those that have participated in donating to animal protection services are heroes.