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US Open champion Dominic Thiem has decided to sponsor a young koala after a visit to the Schonbrunn Zoo in Vienna last weekend.
The World No. 3 visited Schonbrunn along with his brother Moritz on Friday. He also got a chance to spend time with other animals, including giraffes and the giant tortoise Schurli.
The baby koala that Thiem has adopted is currently hiding in its mother's pouch and will only leave it for the first time at the age of six to seven months.
“It was an incredible experience to see the little koala for the first time," Thiem said.
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This is not the first time Thiem has taken up such a sponsorship. In 2016, he became the godfather of the anteater Ilse, who died in July this year.
The Zoo Director Stephen Hering-Hagenbeck also spoke about the visit.
"Meanwhile the young animal shows up more and more often. Once you see an arm, once a foot, then the head. It was great that it looked out exactly when its prominent godfather visited," Hering-Hagenbeck said.
Dominic Thiem says the visit to the zoo was a rejuvenating experience
Dominic Thiem is known to be a big animal lover and has regularly posted updates on his social media handles to support the cause.
Dominic Thiem expressed happiness about visiting the zoo during his break, which he hopes will help him regroup before he gets back on the circuit. He is scheduled to play the ATP Erste Bank Open in Vienna next week, where 7 of the Top 10 players in the world have entered.
“The time in the zoo was a great regeneration for me. It's just something completely different and I made great use of the short break," Thiem said.
Besides animals, Dominic Thiem is a big supporter of nature conservation too. He has regularly posted about the need to end the ocean plastic crisis.
In an interview earlier this year, Thiem had spoken about how he got involved in supporting environmental and animal causes.
“Because of my education," Thiem had said. "My parents care a lot about the environment and wildlife, so I also got involved. And now that I’m a little bit famous, I try to spread good messages to my fans and the world. I try to use less plastic in my daily life. Try to eat less meat and animal products, which I think is important. I think the most important thing is to reduce plastic bottles, to reuse glass bottles, to use huge water dispensers. If every sports event in the world does that then we can reduce the amount of bad plastic a lot.”
