WallStreetBets 'Apes' Have Donated Over $265K To Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

The self-proclaimed "Apes" of r/WallStreetBets have been posting screen grabs from their adoption of gorillas through donations to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Since March 13, the diamond-handed traders have donated $265,000 to the charity.

"The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is surprised, thrilled and appreciative of the grassroots donations that have come our way thanks to a group of investors on Reddit," CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Tara Stoinski said in a statement. "In just one weekend, they donated more than $200,000, primarily through our symbolic gorilla adoption program."

"The money these individuals have donated is an investment, not just in the Fossey Fund’s mission of 'Helping People, Saving Gorillas', but in our planet’s future," said Stoinski.

"The Fossey Fund has spent 50-plus years working to protect endangered wild gorillas, and we’ve helped pull them back from the brink of extinction. But we also work to protect their biodiverse habitat; the Congo Basin, the only place in the world where gorillas live, is the second-largest rainforest in the world, and an important piece of our planet’s natural defenses against climate change," she said.

"As an organization, we are known for our work to protect wild gorillas and their forest home on a daily basis. But the critical science and protection work that we do is actually a long-term investment in the future of our planet and its people."

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund relies on individual donors who give year after year, no matter how large or small.

"We thank these new donors for their contributions to the success of our mission — because in saving gorillas, we save the planet," Stoinski said.