A Washington state tourist accused of launching a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal has a novel defense: he was just trying to protect the sea turtles, and everyone needs to calm down.
Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is scheduled to appear in court in Honolulu on Wednesday to face charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal. The charges stem from an incident earlier this month, when a witness recorded what prosecutors say is video of Lytvynchuk hurling a rock at a Hawaiian monk seal on a Maui beach. The seal, identified by scientists as adult male R404 - though Maui Mayor Richard Bissen affectionately calls her “Lani” - narrowly avoided a headshot, according to a criminal complaint.
The video sparked widespread outrage in Hawaii, with Mayor Bissen calling the behavior “unacceptable” and noting that Lani is “not just a seal to us, but a part of our ocean ‘ohana in Lahaina.” Prosecutors say a state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer investigated the incident in Lahaina - an area largely destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2023 - and that when confronted, Lytvynchuk allegedly said “he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines.”
But Lytvynchuk’s attorney, Myles Breiner, offers a different narrative: his client, a fisherman who was familiar with sea turtles but not Hawaiian monk seals, thought the seal was an aggressive sea lion and was simply trying to protect the turtles. “So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,” Breiner told the Associated Press.
Since the video surfaced, Lytvynchuk has reportedly faced death threats, doxing, and even a package containing what appeared to be feces delivered to his home. He was also “brutally assaulted” by an unknown man, though he declined to file a police report. Breiner argues his client is being unfairly treated because he is a white outsider, claiming “the vast majority of attacks on monk seal and turtle are by locals.”
Hawaiian monk seals, known in ancient Hawaiian as “ʻīlio holo i ka uaua” (“dog that runs in rough water”), are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and among the world’s most critically endangered marine mammals. Hunted to the brink of extinction in the 19th century, they now face habitat loss, pollution, climate change, entanglement in fishing gear, and diseases from runoff. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii suggested the incident shows NOAA must do more to educate the public about protecting the seals.
Lytvynchuk is charged with violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison per charge, plus fines of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act - which, given his alleged “rich” remark, might be a drop in the bucket.