Maya Higa
Conservationist, content creator and founder of Alveus Sanctuary in Austin, Texas
Maya Higa (Conservationist, content creator and founder of Alveus Sanctuary in Austin, Texas) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Alveus Sanctuary, Zoos, Mexican wolf.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Alveus Sanctuary
Higa says running the sanctuary changed her earlier belief that in-person contact with animals was essential.
“before I founded Alveas, I would have thought that in-person connection was really important too. And what Alveas has taught me is that's so clearly not the case”
TED Radio Hour: Can curiosity save the wild? (Oct 30, 2026) · Listen from 22:33
Higa says the sanctuary's strength is reaching young, online people who are not otherwise interested in nature.
“I think what Alvarez is really good at is reaching people that otherwise aren't necessarily interested in nature and the planet”
TED Radio Hour: Can curiosity save the wild? (Oct 30, 2026) · Listen from 21:44
Higa recounts raising over half a million dollars in a single livestream in February 2021 to found her sanctuary.
“And we raised over $500,000 on a live stream to found the organization”
TED Radio Hour: Can curiosity save the wild? (Oct 30, 2026) · Listen from 11:43
Zoos
Higa says she does not advocate boycotting zoos, noting many accredited zoos do important work while others do poorly, and that both models have a place.
“I'm definitely not saying that we should boycott zoos. There are also zoos that are doing a really terrible job, right?”
TED Radio Hour: Can curiosity save the wild? (Oct 30, 2026) · Listen from 23:32
Mexican wolf
Higa says Mexican wolves are critically endangered with about 300 left in the wild, and Alveus is joining a breeding program for them.
“There's only about 300 of them left in the wild right now. So they're critically endangered”
TED Radio Hour: Can curiosity save the wild? (Oct 30, 2026) · Listen from 20:55
Exotic pet trade
Higa argues servals are unsuitable pets because they behave nothing like domestic cats and can be dangerous.
“They don't act like domestic cats. They don't want to live inside. They can be very dangerous”
TED Radio Hour: Can curiosity save the wild? (Oct 30, 2026) · Listen from 18:54
Wildlife rehabilitation
Higa says livestreaming Bean's rehab showed her that conservation outreach could be done virtually, reaching more people without transporting animals.
“I can do this conservation outreach education work virtually without having to bring the animals anywhere and they can reach way more people”
TED Radio Hour: Can curiosity save the wild? (Oct 30, 2026) · Listen from 8:51
Appearances
Can curiosity save the wild?TED Radio Hour · Oct 30, 2026 · 50 min
Manoush Zomorodi talks with conservationist Maya Higa about livestreamed wildlife sanctuaries and computational linguist Jeffrey Reed about using AI to study Yellowstone wolf howls.
Often appears with
- Manoush Zomorodi · 1 shared episode
- Jeffrey T. Reed · 1 shared episode