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.

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[+] 144 points 5 months ago (12 children)
  • [–] 79 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    I read somewhere a random local gave him a couple of punches after the news went viral.

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  • [–] 35 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Time to tie the fine to a fraction of percent worth, like how the Europeans do it.

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    [–] 67 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Apparently after this he also hit some locals on their fists with his face. I hope the seal and their fists are okay.

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  • [–] 13 points 5 months ago* (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 42 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (12 children)

    That'll get you killed on my beach.

    Biggest issue is keiki and tourists crowding the seals when they come on shore to take pictures, and the seals get nervous and head back into the water. But sometimes you get local kine just as disrespectful.

    But also..

    Special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrested Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk near Seattle

    wut...

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  • [–] 30 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Fun fact: NOAA, although not a military service, is considered one of the 8 "uniformed services" of the US, which includes the 5 military services, the Coast Guard, NOAA, and the US Public Health Service.

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  • [–] 23 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    yeah, I'll take them (whatever the hell they are) over ice/cbp any fucking day.

    "now go forth and make the world a better place!"

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  • [–] 23 points 5 months ago* (4 children)

    I just imagine them handing out some Beretta 9mm's to some lab technicians who typically work with ice cores or something and them being told "You're getting sent to Seattle. Find this guy"

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  • [–] 30 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    "Ice him"

    "Decrease his carbon footprint to zero"

    I would watch this show.

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  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago

    As it so happens, it did nearly kill him. Some locals beat the shit out of him afterwards.

    But hey, he said he could afford the fine, so I’m sure he could afford the medical bills too.

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  • [–] [S] 40 points 5 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 25 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    Even if that was true, isn’t that still illegal?

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  • [–] 13 points 5 months ago

    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.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    If anything, it probably makes it more illegal. Because now he’s admitting to intentionally throwing a rock at an endangered seal and at an endangered sea turtle.

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  • [–] 21 points 5 months ago

    This is actually infuriating! 🤬

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  • [+] 20 points 5 months ago (10 children)
  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    You are innocent until proven guilty

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Only applies to government. Not public opinion.

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  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    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

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    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.

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  • [–] 17 points 5 months ago

    WTF is wrong with some people

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  • [–] 17 points 5 months ago

    He will be appointed the new head of US Fish & Wildlife

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  • [–] 15 points 5 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago

    Let's throw the book at this guy like he threw rocks at that seal. Fucking piece of shit.

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    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....

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  • [–] -4 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Ukrainian. But hey, don't let facts get in the way, they're our greatest allies.

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    [+] 17 points 5 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    is a resident of Covington, Wash.

    That tracks.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago

    Garbage human. I hope karma catches him.

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  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    Alleged? There is video of it.

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  • [–] 21 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Legal jargon. You have to say “alleged” until he’s proven guilty in a court of law, no matter how compelling the evidence is

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  • [–] 14 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    You don't have to, it just reduces exposure to lawsuits.

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  • [–] -3 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    So in the land of lawsuits, you have to. Don't push your fucking glasses up and um acktually for internet points.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    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.

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  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Throw his ass in the volcano.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    When animals attack, that shit is funny. Love watching people getting fuckin owned by animals. I wonder why?

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago

    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.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago

    NOAA has cops?

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Sentence him to a high security mental ward.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    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.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    I read sea at first and was very confused. Fuck this guy

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