Special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrested a man in Washington state this week on federal charges for throwing a coconut-sized rock at an endangered monk seal’s head in Hawaii last week.
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, a Washington state resident, was on vacation in Hawaii last week when he was reportedly recorded harassing the endangered animal. He surrendered to special agents in Seattle on Wednesday on charges of “harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal,” per the Associated Press (AP).
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources investigated a report last week of a man harassing a Hawaiian monk seal in Lahaina, which was nearly destroyed during the 2023 wildfires. Video captured the man, allegedly Lytvynchuk, holding a large rock as he watched the seal swimming in shallow water near the shore.
“In the cellphone video, the man can be seen holding a large rock with one hand, aiming, and throwing it directly at the monk seal,” prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.
Though the large rock missed the seal’s head, the throw was significant enough that it caused the “animal to abruptly alter its behavior.”
The witness reportedly confronted the man, who then said, “he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines.”
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen condemned the man’s actions as animal cruelty toward a protected animal.
“Humanity and the instinct to protect what is vulnerable are still values people can unite around,” Bissen said.
“Lytvynchuk, who lives in Covington, Washington, was in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday,” per the AP. “A judge ordered him released pending another court appearance in Honolulu on May 27.”
“Greg Geist, a federal public defender who represented Lytvynchuk at the hearing, said Lytvynchuk hired an attorney in Hawaii, whose name was not immediately listed in the case docket,” it added. “After the hearing, Geist declined to acknowledge questions from an Associated Press reporter or identify the attorney Lytvynchuk hired.”
Lytvynchuk is charged with violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. He faces up to one year in prison for each charge if convicted and a fine of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and a fine of up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Only about 1,600 Hawaiian monk seals remain in the wild.
Read the full article here