Maya, who grew up on a farm and worked as a zookeeper, discovered live‑streaming on Twitch while in college. After rescuing a injured red‑tailed hawk named Bean and sharing his rehabilitation on stream, a viewer’s skepticism led to a viral clip that skyrocketed her audience. Leveraging that attention, she launched a 21‑hour charity stream in which she promised to shave her head if $500 k was raised; the campaign brought in $573 k and funded the purchase of land in Austin, Texas, for the Alvea Sanctuary.
Alvea operates as a “virtual zoo”: rescued animals live in large enclosures, and 36 cameras stream their lives 24/7 to anyone with an internet connection. Viewers can support the sanctuary through micro‑donations (e.g., $5 treats for a cow that have generated over $38 k) and by watching educational content. Since 2019, Maya’s live‑streaming efforts have raised more than $7.5 million for global conservation and, in 2025 alone, reached over 250 million people—equivalent to more than 10 million classroom‑sized audiences. The online community, mostly 17‑ to 28‑year‑olds, becomes engaged with conservation without needing prior interest, meeting them where they already spend time: social media and streaming platforms.
Looking ahead, Alvea plans to breed endangered species (starting with critically threatened wolves) for eventual reintroduction into the wild, hoping viewers will form the same emotional bonds with these animals as they did with Bean, thereby nurturing a new generation of conservationists who act from their own homes.
1. The speaker was born in 1998.
2. They grew up on a farm where they kept rabbits, horses, chickens, and other animals.
3. At age 18, while in college, they worked as a zookeeper.
4. As a zookeeper, they brought animals such as kangaroos and lemurs to schools and birthday parties to teach children about wildlife.
5. After work, they met friends online who were live‑streaming video games on Twitch.
6. They learned they could broadcast themselves live on Twitch and earn tips (real money) from viewers.
7. They began streaming to about 10 viewers at a time almost every day.
8. A zookeeper friend called about a red‑tailed hawk hit by a car; the hawk, named Bean, was taken to their college house and rehabilitated in the backyard.
9. While live‑streaming cooking, they talked about Bean; a viewer doubted the hawk’s presence, so the speaker showed the bird using a falconry glove.
10. A viewer recorded that moment, posted it on Reddit, and it went viral, causing the speaker’s viewership to increase overnight.
11. After the viral moment, they started live‑streaming Bean’s rehabilitation process.
12. Viewers of the stream became invested in Bean’s recovery.
13. The zoo where they worked later allowed them to bring animals such as cockatoos and reptiles home to present on live streams.
14. This shifted their zoo outreach job to a work‑from‑home format, reaching thousands of people worldwide instead of about 20 children at a time in a classroom.
15. At age 22, two years later, they devised a plan to build an animal sanctuary that would not receive in‑person visitors.
16. The sanctuary’s vision was to rescue animals, build large enclosures, and live‑stream conservation education so people could fall in love with the animals online.
17. The goal was for the animals to reach millions of people without requiring any in‑person contact.
18. They intended to fundraise all necessary capital to construct the facility during a single live stream.
19. During a live stream, chat proposed that if $500,000 were raised, the speaker would shave their head on stream; they agreed.
20. Over a 21‑hour live stream, they raised $573,000 for the sanctuary.
21. They purchased land in Austin, Texas, began constructing animal enclosures, and started regrowing their hair (which took about two years).
22. OA and Momo are marmosets (tiny New World monkeys) originally bought as pets online, suffered inadequate care, and were brought to the sanctuary for rehabilitation.
23. OA and Momo now live at Alveas Sanctuary to educate about primate pet‑trade exploitation and rainforest‑habitat conservation; they also have an iPad for playing games.
24. Finn is an American red fox confiscated from the illegal pet trade in California; he lives at Alveas with his friend Reed to teach about the fur trade and promote fur‑free consumers.
25. Winnie the Moo is a cow rescued from a beef operation in Oklahoma; she lives at Alveas to teach about commercial agriculture’s effects on animal welfare and the planet.
26. Viewers can support the sanctuary by donating $5 online, which triggers an automated feeder to dispense a treat for Winnie.
27. The treat feeder has generated over $38,000 in funding for the sanctuary.
28. Since 2019, live‑streaming efforts have raised over $7.5 million for global conservation causes.
29. In 2025 alone, the sanctuary’s online conservation education reached over 250 million people.
30. That reach is equivalent to more than 10 million classrooms in the past year.
31. Alveas Sanctuary now houses rescued parrots, emus, monkeys, wolf dogs, and other animals.
32. The sanctuary operates 36 cameras that live‑stream the animals 24 hours a day.
33. The animals are unaware of the thousands of viewers watching them at any moment.
34. Because the sanctuary is not open to the public, the animals experience less stress from unpredictable visitor factors.
35. Not being open to the public also means no funding is diverted to guest experiences such as gift shops, concession stands, or parking lots.
36. The sanctuary has created one of the most accessible zoom models: anyone with an internet connection can view the animals for free from any device anywhere on the planet.
37. The online audience is primarily aged between 17 and 28 years old.
38. This audience consists of new voters, new consumers, and upcoming decision‑makers.
39. Most of the online community did not initially join with an interest in environmentalism; they are typical internet users who discovered the content through their feeds.
40. Alveas Sanctuary brings conservation to young people by meeting them where they already are—on social media.
41. Prior to social media, TV programming highlighted conservationist figures such as Steve Irwin, David Attenborough, and Jane Goodall.
42. The sanctuary’s next step is to build a new facility where endangered species will be bred for reintroduction into the wild, beginning with critically endangered wolves.
43. The hope is that people will fall in love with these wolves as they did with Bean and subsequently care about the wild places to which the wolves are returned.
44. The ultimate aim is to create millions of new conservationists who advocate for wildlife and wild places from their homes.