The Tourist Who Threw A Large Rock At A Rare Monk Seal In Hawaii And Bragged He Was Too Rich To Care Has Been Banned
Lytvynchuk was released on a US$25,000 bond and is banned from accessing any beaches or approaching marine wildlife in Hawaii.
Authorities in Hawaii arrested a tourist in Lāhainā, Maui, after he was filmed throwing a large rock at one of Hawaii’s critically endangered monk seals, claiming he was protecting turtles from it.
The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the world's most endangered seal species and one of only two mammals native to Hawaii.
It was officially listed as endangered on April 23, 1976, after hunting nearly wiped them out.
Today, only about 1,600 of the seals remain on Earth, and they continue to face threats from human activity and climate change.
A video filmed on May 6 showed a tourist, later identified as 38-year-old Igor Lytvynchuk of Covington, Washington, throwing a large rock at the seal.
A witness who confronted Lytvynchuk said he told her he did not care and was "rich enough to pay any fines."
The rock narrowly missed the seal, but caused the animal to jolt out of the water, according to a criminal complaint filed by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Hawaii.
Researchers confirmed the seal in the video is named R404, a male monk seal that local teams have been monitoring for years.
The attack happened at the same time as Hawaiian Monk Seal Month, when locals were holding events to educate the public on protecting the species.
Authorities formally charged Lytvynchuk on May 12 with harassing an endangered Hawaiian monk seal under the Endangered Species Act and attempting to harass one under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
On May 13, he was arrested by authorities near Seattle.
He then appeared in a Honolulu court on May 27, and pleaded not guilty after his lawyer alleged that he did it to protect nearby turtles, thinking the seal was aggressive.
Lytvynchuk’s lawyer also said he is being treated unfairly as a “white outsider” and blamed local residents for the majority of attacks on monk seals and turtles.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen slammed the attack saying it was not just about one seal and that seals are considered "ocean’s ohana," or family.
Lytvynchuk was released on a US$25,000 bond and is banned from accessing any beaches or approaching marine wildlife in Hawaii.
He now faces up to one year in prison for each of the charges and could be forced to pay US$70,000 in fines.
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