Honolulu, Hawaii
A tourist who drew widespread condemnation in Hawaii after a witness recorded him chucking a coconut-sized rock at “Lani,” a beloved, endangered Hawaiian monk seal off a Maui seaside, was arrested Wednesday by federal agents.
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is charged with harassing a protected animal, the US legal professional’s workplace in Honolulu said, including that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration particular agents arrested him close to Seattle. He was scheduled to seem in US District Court in Seattle on Thursday.
The court docket docket didn’t record an legal professional, and a one that answered the telephone at a quantity related to Lytvynchuk declined to remark.
A state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer final week investigated a report of Hawaiian monk seal harassment in Lahaina, the group that was largely destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2023. A witness confirmed the officer video of the seal swimming in shallow water whereas a man watched from 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 mentioned a felony criticism. The rock, described by a witness as the dimensions of a coconut, narrowly missed the seal’s head, however triggered the “animal to abruptly alter its behavior,” the criticism mentioned.
When a witness confronted the person, he mentioned “he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines,” the criticism mentioned.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said the fees ship a clear message that cruelty towards protected wildlife received’t be tolerated. Lani’s return after the wildfires introduced a sense of therapeutic and hope throughout a tough time, he mentioned.
“Lani is a reminder that humanity and the instinct to protect what is vulnerable are still values people can unite around,” Bissen mentioned in an emailed assertion.
The mayor mentioned he referred to as the US legal professional in Honolulu to advocate for prosecution.
Lytvynchuk is charged with harassing and making an attempt to harass an endangered Hawaiian monk seal.
Hawaiian monk seals are a critically endangered species. Only 1,600 stay within the wild.
If convicted, Lytvynchuk, faces as much as one yr in jail for every cost. He additionally faces a positive of as much as $50,000 underneath the Endangered Species Act and a positive of as much as $20,000 underneath the Marine Mammal Protection Act.