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.
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…
wut…
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.
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.
Wait so they actually have official uniforms? I know the Surgeon General has a very cool military looking one
They do. Here’s the official photo of the current Director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, Rear Admiral Chad M Cary.
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!”
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”
“Ice him”
“Decrease his carbon footprint to zero”
I would watch this show.
That second line sounds like a comedic Bond villain line.
And it’s awesome.