A Tourist Is Facing Federal Charges After Throwing a Rock at a Hawaiian Monk Seal

Visitors to Hawaii likely know that the rules can be a bit different there. For example, it's against the law to remove certain items from the beaches in the Aloha State, including sand, rocks, and coral.

And while there are many rules that are the same in Hawaii as they are back home — for example, it's illegal to drink and drive in Hawaii, just as it is in the rest of the U.S. — many people would do well to learn the local rules and customs before heading to the beloved island chain.

Of course, there are some rules that people should know without having to be told about them ahead of time. Like one Seattle man who is in some legal hot water after he was filmed violating a big Hawaiian rule. Now, a video of him has gone viral, and people are weighing in on the story of the tourist who threw a rock at a Hawaiian monk seal.

Keep reading to learn more and to find out exactly what kind of penalties and fines the man could be facing if he ends up being convicted of the crime.

A video of a tourist throwing a rock at a Hawaiian monk seal has gone viral. In one of the more popular versions of the video, a woman can be heard yelling at a man after he picked up a large rock and threw it into the ocean, where the monk seal had previously been swimming.

According to the woman, she yelled at the man and told him he could face a $50,000 fine, to which he reportedly scoffed at, claiming he was wealthy enough that it didn't matter if he was hit with a hefty fee.

However, her video went on to capture the man as authorities showed up, even filming a bit of his interaction with a Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer as he was presumably held for questioning.

According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DOCARE), the investigation is ongoing and the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration's Office of Law Enforcement is involved, highlighting the seriousness of the federal case.

While the DOCARE press release says that they will not be releasing the name of the man since he hadn't been criminally charged at the time the press release was drafted, several online sleuths have identified the man as Igor Lytvynchuk, a 37-year-old man from Seattle, Washington.

However, it doesn't appear that any official statement from the authorities has been released confirming this information, so it's unclear if he is the same man as the one filmed assaulting the endangered seal.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, monk seals are endangered because their populations have been dwindling for decades, shrinking to about a third of their size.

The seals are only native to Hawaii's islands, and hunting in the mid-19th century is responsible for most of the population's decimation. These days they are protected under the Endangered Species Act, making what Lytvynchuk stands accused of not just a federal crime, but also a cruel and hateful choice.