Maya Higa

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] and the host of the Conservation Cast, a conservation podcast on Higa's Twitch channel designed to connect her audience and conservationists.[7]

Maya Higa
Maya Higa in 2023
Personal information
Born
Maya Elaine Higa

(1998-05-24) May 24, 1998
California, U.S.
EducationCalifornia Polytechnic State University (BS)
Occupations
Website
Twitch information
Also known as
  • Bird Girl
  • Mayo
[1]
Channel
LocationAustin, Texas, U.S.[2]
Years active
  • 2019 – September 2022
  • November 2022–present
Genres
Followers771 thousand
Associated actsAlveus Sanctuary • QTCinderella
YouTube information
Channel
Genres
Subscribers770 thousand (main channel)
1.28 million (combined)[lower-alpha 1][3]
Total views83.73 million (main channel)
189.75 million (combined)[lower-alpha 2][3]
100,000 subscribers2021, 2021, 2023
Last updated: October 26, 2023

Early life

Maya Elaine Higa[8][2] was born to a Japanese father and an American mother in Northern California[9] on May 24, 1998,[2] and grew up there on a farm as the youngest sibling with her parents, two brothers, and a sister.[10][9] She attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, graduating with a bachelor's degree in agricultural education and communication in June 2020.[11][12]

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.[13][14] 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 5 Cities Homeless Coalition, a local homeless coalition that she previously volunteered at, she gained media attention from local news.[15][16]

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.[7] 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.[17] Conservation Cast has raised more than US$80,000 with 63 episodes for wildlife protection organizations around the globe.

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.[18]

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.[19] 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$578,000.[20]

In February 2021, Higa officially joined the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Central and South Texas as a governing board member.[18]

In November 2021, Higa began to co-host the Wine About It podcast alongside her friend and fellow Twitch streamer, QTCinderella.[21] 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 of her alleged involvement in covering up a sexual assault scandal.[22][23][24] On March 11, 2023, the duo announced the return of the podcast alongside the launch of the Wine About It Patreon.[25][26]

2022
Higa co-hosting The Streamer Awards with the founder and host QTCinderella.

On March 12, 2022, Higa co-hosted the first Streamer Awards show with QTCinderella at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, California.[27]

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.[28][29]

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 involvement and stating that she did not cover up sexual assault and would take leave from streaming.[30][31][32][33]

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.[34][35]

Using her platform on Twitch, Higa has raised over US$1,000,000 collectively from viewer donations.[18]

2023

On January 21, 2023, Higa was announced as an ambassador for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.[36][37][38]

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.[39][40][41]

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.[42][43]

Personal life

Higa began dating fellow Twitch streamer Matthew Rinaudo, also known by his online alias Mizkif, in 2019.[44] On September 14, 2021, Rinaudo announced on Twitter that he and Higa had ended their relationship.[45] Higa currently resides in Austin, Texas.[2]

Discography
List of singles as a featured artist
Year Title Album Details Ref.
2019 "I" (with AtotheT) Echos From The Suicidal Soldier
  • Release date: May 11, 2019
  • Producer: Fiend
 [46][47][48]
2021 "Shoot for the Stars" (with Mitch Jones) Broken
  • Release date: December 3, 2021
  • Producer: SMLE and Used Beats
 [49][50][51]

Notes
  1. Subscribers, broken down by channel:
    770 thousand (Maya)
    169 thousand (Maya Daily)
    16.7 thousand (Maya Clips)
    6.79 thousand (Maya Vods)
    166 thousand (Alveus Sanctuary)
    17.9 thousand (Alveus Sanctuary Highlights)
    135 thousand (Wine About It)
  2. Views, broken down by channel:
    83.73 million (Maya)
    42.437 million (Maya Daily)
    14.226 million (Maya Clips)
    769.9 thousand (Maya Vods)
    35.339 million (Alveus Sanctuary)
    2.89 million (Alveus Sanctuary Highlights)
    10.354 million (Wine About It)

References
  1. Asarch, Steven (February 12, 2021). "Twitch streamers helped 'Bird Girl' Maya Higa raise over $500,000 to build her own animal sanctuary". Insider.
  2. Tsiaoussidis, Alex (September 5, 2022). "Who is Maya Higa? History, Twitch earnings, age, setup". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  3. "About Maya". YouTube.
  4. Wilde, Thomas (March 15, 2021). "Livestreaming market report: Women increase their presence on Twitch, and everyone's playing chess". GeekWire.
  5. Higa, Maya. "Alveus Sanctuary". Alveus Sanctuary.
  6. Galloway, Ryan (February 11, 2021). "Maya raises over $500,000 for her nonprofit organization Alveus during charity stream". Dot Esports.
  7. "Maya Higa's Conservation Cast – For all information on the Conservation Cast". Conservation Cast. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023.
  8. Hartikainen, Nico (February 5, 2023). "Striimaaja jäi kiinni hyvin kyseenalaisista pornovideoista – pyyteli itkien anteeksi vaimo rinnallaan" [The streamer got caught in very dubious porn videos – crying and apologizing with his wife by his side]. Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  9. Higa, Maya (March 27, 2020). "draw my life – mayahiga". YouTube. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  10. Chase (January 5, 2020). "Streamovator: Mayahiga". StreamElements. Retrieved February 14, 2023. I grew up on a farm in Northern California and have loved animals my whole life.
  11. "Unconventional Wisdom for Mindset Change & Fixing Productivity w/ Maya – Dr. K Interviews". YouTube. May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  12. "Cal Poly student raises $32,000 for local homeless in video stream". Cal Coast Times. May 27, 2019.
  13. Richman, Olivia (February 20, 2021). ""Animals are endlessly fascinating and so honest": Maya Higa uses Twitch to raise money for conservation". Invenglobal.
  14. Desatoff, Sam (January 9, 2020). "Report: Just Chatting was the most popular channel on Twitch in December". GameDaily.biz. For creators like MayaHiga, streaming is about more than just video games.
  15. Asarch, Steven (July 3, 2019). "What Makes Twitch Streamer Maya Higa So Special? Might Be the Falcon". Newsweek.
  16. Goare, Aja (May 27, 2019). "Cal Poly student uses gamer streaming website to raise $32k for local homeless". KSBY 6 – San Luis Obispo.
  17. Lopez, Jalen (November 21, 2020). "Maya Higa's Conservation Cast raises over $67,000 for charity". Dot Esports.
  18. "About Maya". Alveus Sanctuary.
  19. Galloway, Ryan (February 11, 2021). "Ludwig spends $53,000 on an hour of gaming with Shroud after streamers engage in bidding war during charity stream". Dot Esports.
  20. Conlan, Daniel (February 11, 2021). "Maya's charity auction huge success as she goes bald, Ludwig pays $53k for hour with shroud". GINX.
  21. Wine About It (November 15, 2021). "So We Started a Podcast... | Wine About It". YouTube. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  22. Polhamus, Blaine (October 7, 2022). "QTCinderella hints at stopping her Wine About It podcast in Twitch convo with xQc". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  23. Wine About It (September 29, 2022). "Hey all. Wine about it is on a break. We will update you when we have an update. Thanks for your support". YouTube. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  24. Bhattacharya, Richik "anarkiddie" (November 15, 2022). "Maya Higa announces her return to streaming after almost two months since AdrianahLee-CrazySlick scandal". Sportskeeda. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  25. Wine About It (March 11, 2023). "Listen..." YouTube. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  26. Wine About It. "Wine About It | A drunk podcast with QTCinderella and Maya Higa". Patreon. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  27. Polhamus, Blaine (March 13, 2022). "All 2022 Streamer Award Winners". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  28. Higa, Maya (March 23, 2022). "My 2022 travel series begins ON A BOAT! We'll be whale watching, talking marine conservation, and answering all your questions live with @whales_org. See you there!". Twitter.
  29. Higa, Maya (March 30, 2022). "Conservation Uncharted Ep. 1: Whale Watching with !WDC". Twitch (service). Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  30. Higa, Maya (September 26, 2022). "My final statement". Twitter.
  31. Bhattacharya, Richik (September 25, 2022). ""I am stepping away": Maya Higa announces departure from streaming in statement amid allegations of covering up AdrianahLee's assault". Sportskeeda. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  32. Weekman, Kelsey (September 23, 2022). "Twitch Had An Especially Wild Week". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  33. Parrish, Ash (September 20, 2022). "Streamer involved in Twitch gambling saga now embroiled in sexual assault allegations". The Verge. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022.
  34. Bhattacharya, Richik (November 15, 2022). "Maya Higa announces return to streaming after almost two months since AdrianahLee-CrazySlick scandal". Sportskeeda. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  35. Mukherjee, Shreyan (November 17, 2022). ""I'm still a part-time streamer" – Maya Higa shares plans following the break after s*xual assault cover-up drama". Sportskeeda. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  36. Higa, Maya (January 21, 2023). "My work with @whalesorg has been some of my proudest yet and this partnership means a lot to me. Can't wait for you guys to join us in protecting our seas this year.🐋🐬". Twitter.
  37. "Introducing WDC Ambassador Maya Higa". Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
  38. "Patrons and Ambassadors". Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
  39. @mayahiga (April 4, 2023). "I HAVE A NEW SHOW!!!! I teamed up with @Twitch Streamer Originals as the host for Nerve Center presented by @Ally. Tune into the first episode TOMORROW at 11am CT! #ad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  40. @twitch (April 12, 2023). "Our host for Nerve Center is none other than @mayahiga! What animals will she bring out for our guest @TheRealDareon today?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  41. @twitch (April 12, 2023). "Our host for Nerve Center is none other than @maya_higa higa! What animals will she bring out for our guest today?". Retrieved May 27, 2023 – via Instagram.
  42. "QTCinderella & Maya Higa's Gala for Good raises $250k for Rainforest charities". Dexerto. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  43. "QTCinderella, Maya Higa's Gala For Good raises "around $250,000" for rainforest conservation". Tubefilter. October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  44. Adams, Robert (November 8, 2019). "Twitch sneeze compilation shows the weird side of streaming". GameRevolution.
  45. Deschamps, Marc (September 15, 2021). "Mizkif Announces Twitch Break". ComicBook Gaming. In a Twitlonger post, Mizkif and Maya Higa revealed that they have broken up, and will both be taking a break from streaming, in order to "process and to take care of ourselves."
  46. "I". YouTube. May 12, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  47. "AtotheT – I Lyrics". Genius. May 11, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  48. "I". Spotify. May 11, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  49. "Mitch Jones – Shoot for the Stars ft. Maya Higa". YouTube. December 3, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  50. "Mitch Jones – Shoot for the Stars ft. Maya Higa Lyrics". Genius. December 3, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  51. "Mitch Jones – Shoot for the Stars ft. Maya Higa". Spotify. December 3, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.


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