The wildlife sanctuary you can visit from anywhere | Maya Higa

Social media platforms offer a powerful, scalable tool for wildlife conservation by enabling direct engagement with global audiences. Maya Higa, founder of Alveus Sanctuary, demonstrates that an animal sanctuary can thrive without physical visitors by utilizing 24/7 live-streaming to educate the public and generate funding. This digital-first model bypasses the stress of traditional zoo environments for animals while reaching millions of young, potential decision-makers who might otherwise remain disengaged from environmental causes. Since 2019, this approach has raised over $7.5 million for global conservation efforts and reached hundreds of millions of viewers. By sharing the rehabilitation journeys of rescued animals like Bean the red-tailed hawk, the sanctuary fosters deep emotional connections that transform passive viewers into active participants in the conservation movement, effectively building the next generation of environmental advocates from their own homes.