US Agents Arrest Tourist for Harassing Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal
Federal agents have arrested Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, a 38-year-old tourist from Covington, Washington, after he was recorded throwing a rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal named 'Lani' on a Maui beach. The incident, which drew widespread condemnation, was captured on video by a witness and showed Lytvynchuk hurling a coconut-sized rock at the seal, narrowly missing its head. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Honolulu charged him with harassing a protected animal, and he was apprehended by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration special agents near Seattle. Lytvynchuk is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The Hawaiian monk seal is a critically endangered species, with only about 1,600 individuals remaining in the wild. 
