A 38-year-old Washington man has been arrested for allegedly throwing a rock at a monk seal on the shores of Maui in early May, an incident that was caught on video and quickly went viral.
The monk seal is well-known to locals who have named her “Lani.”
Special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrested Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk near Seattle on Wednesday, May 13. Lytvynchuk, 38, is a resident of Covington, Wash., roughly 30 miles southeast from Seattle.
On May 5, bystanders took video of a man walking along the beach in the Lahaina area of Maui as he followed a monk seal, Lani, in the nearby shallow water. The seal was swimming and pushing a log. The man then took a large rock — one witness described it as the size of a coconut — and threw it at the seal, nearly hitting its head. The seal was startled and reared out of the water. Lani was motionless for a time, avoiding the shore, after the scare.
I read somewhere a random local gave him a couple of punches after the news went viral.
“Eh, get cracks!”
Saw that the local guy is also not having any charges pressed against him for this. Love to see it.
That local should be eligible for sainthood, or at least a key to the city
You’ll be glad to hear that the anonymous local was awarded the highest honor the city could bestow: the Ambassador of Aloha.
“Don’t worry guys. Alohandle this cunt.” — some local