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.
His defense attorney is saying that the dude was trying to scare away the seal because he thought it was hurting some sea turtles. Story is here. Found this when I was looking for yesterday’s story quoting the dude as saying “I can afford the fines” when he was confronted by some local people.
Not sure I buy this. But, we’ll see.
Even if that was true, isn’t that still illegal?
Totally. Not trying to defend the guy, just sharing the story. Just seems super convenient. Why not tell the people yelling at you that you’re trying to protect the turtles? Why are we only now hearing about this? Seems like the sort of story one of my kids would come up with to try and get themselves off the hook.
Most likely, yes. But might help to reduce the penalty
NOAA has cops?
When animals attack, that shit is funny. Love watching people getting fuckin owned by animals. I wonder why?
I live on O’ahu and I’ll never forget the first time I encountered a monk seal while surfing. It was near sunset and I was kind of off by myself, away from the rest of the crowd. I heard a sound of heavy breathing from behind me and I thought that maybe someone was paddling up. Nope, it was a seal.
At first my brain couldn’t make sense of it. I grew up in Florida and so immediately thought it was a manatee (for some reason I thought monk seals were like sea lion size or something smaller and leaner), but I knew this was impossible. Then it yawned and I saw its sizable teeth and realized what it was. It was funny because it was about that time that it realized I was looking at it and it had this “oh shit!” look in its eyes. We gave each other a cautious side-eye just before it went back underwater and swam away.
These things are big. What would possess someone to think they can approach one is beyond me. A couple years ago there was a story of a lady out swimming in Waikiki and she apparently wandered into an area where a recently born seal was on the beach. The mother messed her up, iirc.
is a resident of Covington, Wash.
That tracks.
Does it? I just looked it up and it’s by Kent, yeah? I’ve never heard of it.
washington man sounds like florida man to me, and that guy better have a joint and a Rainier while wearing a hoodie, not this nutsack - he’s some russian shitbag who’s living in washington state. he’s not… washington man…
Ukrainian. But hey, don’t let facts get in the way, they’re our greatest allies.
well slava ukraine but fuck this guy.
Uh huh.
Washington man might throw rock at seal if drunk enough, sadly too poor to realize dream
I feel sorry for the seal. What a complete asswipe. Boot the Ukrainian out of the USA so he can throw hand grenades at the Russians.
Apparently after this he also hit some locals on their fists with his face. I hope the seal and their fists are okay.
He’s the one who got the beating after the locals found out about it and he told them that he doesn’t care about getting fined because he’s rich.
You may need to take a second read of the comment you’re replying to.
damn
Let’s throw the book at this guy like he threw rocks at that seal. Fucking piece of shit.
I’m not one to call for doxing this person, but I’m sure one could easily find where this person works and let that company know what they think. Just talking out loud.
he’s already been doxxed, iirc he owns his own business.
Let’s not dox people
I’m sure prosecutors will have a field day
Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk (yes, that’s his name)
He will be appointed the new head of US Fish & Wildlife
Sentence him to a high security mental ward.
allegedly throwing rock
Isnt there a video, what do they mean allegedly?
You are innocent until proven guilty
Only applies to government. Not public opinion.
Public option unreliable is should be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone deserves a fair trial even when there is strong evidence to suggest that someone committed a crime.
It’s the dumb thing where they have to cover their ass legally. If the guy goes to court and somehow wins by convincing them it “slipped” from his hand then he could turn around and sue all the outlets who said he threw it
That’s not it at all
As of right now he is totally innocent. It is on the prosecution to prove that he commited a crime.
What? No. He’s presumed innocent in the court of law. Whether they find him innocent or guilty doesn’t change him being innocent or guilty. You can be guilty and found innocent or innocent and found guilty. The opinion of the court only matters in the justice system, not in public opinion or reality.
I imagine the more logical argument would be “I threw the rock, but it wasn’t at the seal” rather than “it slipped out of my hand at a high velocity”
Throw his ass in the volcano.
Alleged? There is video of it.
Legal jargon. You have to say “alleged” until he’s proven guilty in a court of law, no matter how compelling the evidence is
Thank you.
You don’t have to, it just reduces exposure to lawsuits.
So in the land of lawsuits, you have to. Don’t push your fucking glasses up and um acktually for internet points.
You should welcome the opportunity for clarity, you left out important facts and came to an erroneous punch line.
The only requirement to adjust your language going forward would occur if you are found guilty of the libel/slander charge. It’s not guaranteed you will, especially when there’s substantial evidence. So no it’s not de facto legally required by print and media organizations. They do so to minimize legal entanglement either way. Additionally your overall perspective isn’t even globally applicable as libel and slander laws vary greatly depending on country.
