Maya Elaine Higa (born May 24, 1998) is an American conservationist, falconer,[4] wildlife rehabilitator, Twitch streamer, and YouTuber. She is the founder of Alveus Sanctuary,[5] a non-profit exotic animal sanctuary and virtual education center based in Austin, Texas.[6] She also co-hosts the Wine About It podcast with her friend, QTCinderella.[7]
| Maya Higa | |||||||
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 Maya Higa in 2023 | |||||||
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| Born | Maya Elaine Higa May 24, 1998 California, U.S. | ||||||
| Education | California Polytechnic State University (BS) | ||||||
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| Location | Austin, Texas, U.S.[2] | ||||||
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| Followers | 796 thousand | ||||||
| Associated acts | Alveus Sanctuary • QTCinderella | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
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| Subscribers | 867 thousand (main channel) 1.48 million (combined)[a][3] | ||||||
| Total views | 110.03 million (main channel) 257.64 million (combined)[b][3] | ||||||
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Last updated: April 5, 2024 | |||||||
Early life
Maya Elaine Higa[8][2] was born to a Japanese-Okinawan father[9] and an American mother in Northern California[10] on May 24, 1998,[2] and grew up there on a farm as the youngest sibling with her parents, two brothers, and a sister.[11][10]
She attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, graduating with a bachelor's degree in agricultural education and communication in June 2020.[12][13] During her time at college, she worked for Zoo to You Conservation Ambassadors, Charles Paddock Zoo, and Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary as an intern, doing outreach education and exotic animal husbandry.[14]
Career
2019–2020
Higa began streaming on Twitch in February 2019. Her streams consist of various activities such as music and falconry, along with spreading conservation awareness.[15][16] Early in her streaming career, she saw significant growth after a falconry video with her juvenile red-tailed hawk named Bean went viral on Reddit. After she celebrated her 21st birthday by holding a charity stream for the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition, a local homeless coalition that she previously volunteered for, she gained media attention from local news.[17][18]
In July 2019, Higa started the Conservation Cast, a podcast where viewers learn about animals and gather information from experts such as conservationists, wildlife enthusiasts, and scientific communicators. [19] The first episode of the podcast raised US$3,000 for the American Eagle Foundation. The podcast has also featured speakers from organizations such as Save the Rhino, the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.[20] Conservation Cast has raised more than US$92,000 with 63 episodes for wildlife protection organizations around the globe.[19][14]
In October 2020, Higa became a part of the board of directors for a wildlife rehabilitation center in Central Texas. Her role focuses on raptor rehabilitation and husbandry.[14]
2021
On February 10, 2021, Higa held a 21-hour charity stream for her newly founded non-profit exotic animal sanctuary and virtual education center known as Alveus Sanctuary.[1] The stream was highlighted by an auction that sold off items such as a golden shovel owned by Sodapoppin, Gucci loafers owned by T-Pain, and a signed jersey from xQc. The most expensive item auctioned off was a 1-hour gaming session with streamer and former professional CS:GO player Shroud, purchased by fellow streamer Ludwig Ahgren for US$53,000.[21] Shortly after reaching her goal of US$500,000, Higa shaved her head, fulfilling a promise she made a few weeks prior. All together, she raised US$573,000.[1]
In February 2021, Higa officially joined the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Central and South Texas as a governing board member.[14]
2022
On March 1, 2022, Higa was featured in the second annual World Woman Hour, a digital series presented by the World Woman Foundation dedicated to highlighting 60 inspirational stories of women from all walks of life. [22][23][24]
On March 12, 2022, Higa co-hosted the first Streamer Awards show with QTCinderella at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, California.[25]
On March 30, 2022, Higa started Conservation Uncharted, a travel series of live streams focused on different aspects of wildlife conservation, with a whale-watching trip joined by Whale and Dolphin Conservation, raising over US$4,000 in under 2 hours.[26][27][28]
On September 19, 2022, Higa and Mizkif were accused by fellow Twitch streamer Trainwreckstv of downplaying and covering up an incident where fellow streamer CrazySlick allegedly sexually assaulted female streamer AdrianahLee. Higa released a public statement on Twitter via twitlonger apologizing for her involvement and stating that she did not cover up sexual assault and would take leave from streaming.[29][30][31][32]
After a two-month hiatus, Higa returned to streaming in November 2022. Higa stated her intentions to stream less on her main channel and reorient efforts into producing educational conservation content for Alveus Sanctuary.[33][34]
2023
As of January 2023, Higa has raised over US$1,000,000 collectively from viewer donations using Twitch.[14] On January 21, 2023, Higa was announced as an ambassador for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.[35][36][37]
On April 4, 2023, Higa hosted Nerve Center presented by Ally, a Twitch-sponsored education show based around Alveus Sanctuary with several online creators, including Daily Dose of Internet, Lacari, Dareon, and Caroline Kwan.[38][39][40]
On October 1, 2023, Higa co-hosted The Gala for Good charity auction stream with QTCinderella. Over US$250,000 was raised for rainforest conservation at the event, with donations going to five non-profit environmental organizations, including Rainforest Alliance, World Wildlife Fund, Rainforest Foundation US, and Rainforest Trust.[41][42]
Other ventures
Wine About It Podcast
In November 2021, Higa began to co-host the Wine About It podcast alongside her friend and fellow Twitch streamer, QTCinderella.[7] Wine About It went on hiatus in September 2022 after Higa announced her "indefinite" break from online content creation, a decision which stemmed from the backlash she received for her alleged involvement in covering up a sexual assault scandal.[43][44] On March 11, 2023, the duo announced the return of the podcast alongside the launch of the Wine About It Patreon.[45][46]
Personal life
Higa currently resides in Austin, Texas, and lives in a custom-built 390-square-foot tiny house on site at Alveus Sanctuary.[2][47][48]
Between 2019 and 2021, Higa was in a relationship with fellow Twitch streamer Matthew Rinaudo (known by his online alias Mizkif). On September 14, 2021, Rinaudo announced on Twitter that he and Higa had ended their relationship.[49][50] Since 2022, Higa has been in a relationship with someone outside of the online entertainment industry.[51]
In April 2023, Higa uploaded a video on YouTube titled "meet my pets" showcasing her collection of animals. At that time, Higa had 12 pets, including a kiger mustang horse named Acero, a weimaraner dog named Bella, and a chihuahua-pit bull mix dog named Maverick.[52]
Discography
Singles
As a featured artist
| Year | Title | Album | Details | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "I" (with AtotheT) | Echos From The Suicidal Soldier |
| [53][54][55] |
| 2021 | "Shoot for the Stars" (with Mitch Jones) | Broken |
| [56][57][58] |
Notes
References
External links
