Overview
- Prosecutors say a May 5 video shows Igor Lytvynchuk throwing a coconut‑sized rock that narrowly missed a monk seal later identified by NOAA as adult male R404.
- Federal agents arrested Lytvynchuk after he arranged to surrender in the Seattle area and he is due to appear in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on charges under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.
- If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison per count and statutory fines that together can total tens of thousands of dollars.
- Lytvynchuk’s lawyer says he mistook the seal for an aggressive sea lion while trying to protect turtles and alleges the defendant has been doxed, threatened, physically assaulted, and sent a package appearing to contain feces.
- The case has prompted local outrage, calls for more public education from officials and highlights how viral videos and eyewitness reports are being used to enforce protections for roughly 1,600 critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals.