Maya

Maya Elaine Higa (born: ) is an American YouTuber, Conservationist and Twitch streamer. She is the founder of Alveus Sanctuary, a non-profit exotic animal sanctuary and virtual education center based in Austin, Texas.
== History==
===Early life===
Maya grew up on a farm in Northern California, along with her two brothers and sister. She attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, graduating with a bachelor's degree in agricultural education and communication.
===Rise to fame===
One day in February 2019, Higa decided to go on "Omegle", a site where you would talk to random strangers, where she met two guys. After a bit of talking they convinced her to start streaming on Twitch, which she proceeded to do. Her early streams mainly consisted of singing and chatting to her audience, until one day she brought her juvenile red-tailed hawk on camera. The clip was later posted to the subreddit r/LiveStreamFails, where it quickly went viral. She proceeded to get more attention due to how different her content was in comparison to other streamers at the time, as there weren't any Falconers or Wildlife Rehabilitators on the site previously. Realizing that she could educate the Twitch audience about wildlife, she decided to make streaming her part-time job. She then gained media attention after she celebrated her 21st birthday by holding a charity stream for a local homeless coalition she previously volunteered at. The stream raised US$32,000.https://mustangnews.net/student-raises-32000-for-homeless-coalition-on-streaming-website/https://youtu.be/onmmdf3wwoA?si=TMupj-HutC-iBkr-
After moving from California to Texas in 2020, she created "Alveus Sanctuary" in February 2021, a non-profit exotic animal sanctuary and virtual education center. On February 10, 2021, she held a 21-hour charity stream for Alveus. The stream was highlighted by an auction that sold off items such as a golden shovel owned by Twitch Streamer Sodapoppin, Gucci loafers owned by Rapper 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 for $53,000. Shortly after reaching her goal of US$500,000, Maya shaved her head, fulfilling a promise she made a few weeks prior. All together, she raised US$578,000.https://youtu.be/Q4kw_bzzrzw?si=KKlI7CHPcS1L38N5
==Relationships==
Maya met Mizkif, another streamer, in April 2019. At first, they only talked on Discord on their respective streams before having a couple of online "dates." Mizkif invited Maya to fly out a few months after and meet in real life which was possible after a fan donated Mizkif a huge amount of money. They got into a relationship around Summer 2019https://youtu.be/kahBFP8aWWE?si=EIJwzis7S-L-8eSR, unfortunately, the couple split in September 2021.https://x.com/REALMizkif/status/1437992869244063746
Maya started dating Caleb, a non-streamer, around September 2022. She has said many good things about himhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTKWQHXE0WA&t=225shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImSqRzL76iE&t=1shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WsjuMY9ECQ&t=386s stating he is the nicest boyfriend she has ever had and that he treats her like "the most special the most deserving, best person ever."https://youtu.be/0FGEzIcRYvM?si=rCb5WU0yvilZnde5&t=3425 
==Podcasts==
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. The Podcast is discontinued as of 2021.https://youtu.be/YNjUe6FA9GA?si=QMdUA3jv8Gs5_Vs5
Maya hosts a Podcast called "Wine About It" with best friend and fellow Twitch streamer QTCinderella where they talk about taboo subjects and tell personal stories. A new episode is released every Wednesday along with a bonus episode on their Patreon. patreon.com/wineaboutit
In May 2024, Maya announced a new podcast called "Worlds Wildest" along with her co-host and co-worker Connor O'Brien.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQC_TNfMQBw Worlds Wildest is a Podcast based around "The Tales of Earth's Most Extreme Creatures." A Patreon for this Podcast was announced as well.patreon.com/WorldsWildestPodcast
==Trivia== 
*Higa owns a non-profit animal sanctuary called "Alveus Sanctuary."
*She co-hosted "The Streamer Awards" in March 2022 with QTCinderella.https://youtu.be/l5xqg4N8-KI?si=yrdyTITfOpObgsE8
*She has a strong passion for arts and craftshttps://youtu.be/d3CQHajGPgI?si=JC6CGEGv2mfo24Pe
*She is currently dating her non-streamer boyfriend of two years, Caleb.https://youtu.be/rCHLqce9FIQ?si=0CZMMGF_LZV3OUiS
*She has a podcast called "Wine About It" with QTCinderella where they talk about taboo topics.
*She has been claimed as "The Steve Irwin of Twitch."
*In August 2023, Higa dyed her hair red.https://x.com/mayahiga/status/1692262397711376662?s=20
*In December 2023, Higa revealed she was working on a children's book based around Bugs.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI7C659HsNY&t=296s
*She attempted to learn to kickflip in January 2024 but ultimately gave up after around 17 hours of trying.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k8Df8bQCaE&t=390s Ricky Glaser, a professional skateboarder, attempted to help her learn.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEbwBCEy6QQ&t=201s Fellow Streamer Ludwig even attempted to do it but failed as well after only 1 stream.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7yVN7GmTvc
*At the Streamer Awards on February 17, 2024, she was featured in an "Ostonox" edited video titled "Every Streamer Starts Somewhere" (Timestamp: 46:00) where they showcased one of her first Twitch Streams as an ode to how far her and other creators have come within the past decade.
*Higa was also featured in the special credits at the end of the Award Show, along with Caleb, to thank the both of them for helping out QTCinderella with the event.https://www.youtube.com/live/kEDe5llEdoI?si=HWzhW9aHdXTKzmRy&t=33336
* Maya revealed in April 2024 that she dealt with a stalker for around 3 years leading to her having to take multiple safety precautions and ultimately fearing for her life. She stated that the stalker is no longer a problem within her life and she can finally get back to doing more energetic and adventurous streams as well as sleep in her own home once againhttps://www.twitch.tv/maya/clip/BluePopularGalagoCharlietheUnicorn-8Dkzyu2wm2MlU-GD?filter=clips&range=all&sort=timehttps://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/news-i-hide-gun-twitch-streamer-maya-higa-reveals-harrowing-experience-stalkerhttps://dotesports.com/streaming/news/hide-with-a-gun-maya-terrifying-3-year-ordeal-with-twitch-stalker
* She hit 900K subscribers on her main Youtube channel on May 28, 2024.
==Gallery==
Mayaambish.png|Ambish Music Video
File:Maya 26th. Birthday.jpg|Maya, May 2024.
MayaAppearance.png
File:Maya July 24.png|Maya, July 2022.
File:Coachella22.png|Maya, Coachella 2022.
File:Maya 26th. Birthday Selfie.jpg|Maya on her 26th. Birthday
WineAboutit3.png|Wine About It 2023
MayaTwitchCon.png|Maya, Twitch-Con 2023
File:RenFaire.png|Maya, Rune and PeachJars, Ren Faire 2024
File:MayaCaleb.png|Maya and Caleb, 2023.
Maya2023.png|Maya, December 2023
Mayanewyears.png|Maya, December 2023
WineAboutIt1.png|Wine About It 2022
Maya24birthday.png|Maya on her 24th birthday
File:Stompyredhair.png|Stompy, Maya's Emu, 2023.
File:Winniethemoo.png|Winnie, Maya's Cow, 2024.
==References==
Category:Educational YouTubers
Category:Reaction YouTubers
Category:Vlogging YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2019
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Japanese YouTubers