Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo who stole hearts around the globe this year, has gained a high-profile supporter: Canadian cryptocurrency magnate Vitalik Buterin.
Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, donated 10,000,000 baht (about $293,000) to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, becoming Moo Deng’s “adoptive father” through the zoo’s Wildlife Sponsorship Program. The 5-month-old hippo, a star attraction at the Chonburi province zoo, now has a benefactor helping improve her habitat and support the zoo’s broader initiatives.
