Two witnesses swore under oath that Hawaiian monk seal Lani appeared badly hurt after a visitor threw a rock toward her head off Lahaina shores. One said the seal remained immobile for an hour and a half. The other swore she became concerned the seal was “even alive still.”
The federal affidavit filed this week describes a worse scene than the viral video alone showed. Witnesses told investigators the seal appeared injured, stopped playing with the log she had been pushing through the water, and lay on the reef without moving after the rock landed near her head.
The affidavit also says the defendant walked away after witnesses told him police had been called, saying he was “rich enough” to pay any fines.
What witnesses swore happened.
According to sworn witness statements in the federal affidavit, Lani was playing with a log in shallow water near Lahaina before the incident began. Witness 1 described the seal as “clearly not aggressive” while a man stood nearby.
The affidavit says the man picked up a rock “the size of a coconut” and threw it directly at the seal’s head as she began swimming away. Witness 1 stated the seal “sprung” out of the water startled and moved a short distance away. The seal then lay immobile for what the witness described as an hour and a half.
A second witness was conducting a photoshoot nearby. She watched Lani playing with the log, then saw the man throw the rock toward her head. The seal “jumped” and tried to swim away, but ended up “laying on the reef” and “stopped playing around like before.”
Both witnesses became “concerned if it was even alive still,” according to the affidavit. Witness 2 said the seal “clearly seemed hurt.” The witnesses described a seal that looked badly affected after the rock landed near her.
What the defendant said when confronted.
Witnesses confronted the man after the rock was thrown and told him law enforcement had been called. According to the affidavit, he said he did not care and could pay any fines.
Witness 2 also told investigators the man walked away without checking on Lani, even though the seal “clearly seemed hurt.” The viral clip showed the throw, but not what the witnesses described after.
The affidavit identifies the defendant as Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, a Washington resident who was vacationing on Maui and staying at Lahaina Shores Beach Resort. DLNR officers identified him at the scene, told him the case would be referred to NOAA for possible federal criminal enforcement, read him his Miranda rights, and said he chose to remain silent.
The federal arrest and what comes next.
NOAA special agents arrested Lytvynchuk at his home in Covington, Washington, on May 13. He appeared before a federal judge in Seattle the next day and was released with an order to return to Hawaii for an initial appearance in Honolulu federal court on May 27. As a condition of release, he surrendered his passport and was barred from leaving the country.
The federal complaint charges him under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The potential penalty being reported includes up to one year in prison for each charge and fines that could reach $70,000.
Lytvynchuk has retained three Honolulu defense attorneys from the Law Office of Myles S. Breiner. Myles Breiner is one of Honolulu’s most well-known federal criminal defense lawyers. Andrew Strand and Sean Fitzsimmons are also on the team. Most tourist wildlife cases end with a fine and a flight home. This one will not. The legal fees alone likely exceed the maximum fines he could face if convicted.
The public reaction has gone way beyond official channels.
The Lahaina case moved fast because the video moved fast. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen publicly vowed prosecution, Senator Brian Schatz called for stronger protection around monk seals, and federal agents arrested the defendant at home in Washington within days.
Public anger also moved into rougher territory. Some coverage has reported that the defendant was allegedly assaulted on Maui following the rock incident, and State Senator Brenton Awa publicly and controversially referred to that unidentified person involved as an “Ambassador of Aloha.”
Why this case is different from the 15 unsolved killings.
BOH’s recent coverage of Hawaii’s monk seal enforcement record showed the harder background. Since 2009, Hawaii has recorded 16 confirmed intentional monk seal killings, but only one has produced a conviction.
The Lani case already looks different. Federal agents arrested the defendant at his Washington home. A federal court ordered him back to Hawaii. Witnesses gave sworn statements. Video evidence spread worldwide in just hours.
The prior unsolved killings did not share that same public record. They did not come with a viral clip, two witnesses describing the act under oath, and a named defendant facing a return trip to Hawaii federal court.
That does not make the Lani case more damaging than the killings. It shows how much can change when the act is documented clearly enough for investigators, prosecutors, politicians, and the public to all move at the same time.
What travelers should consider.
Be aware that a new level of vigilance has arrived. NOAA guidelines still call for staying at least 50 feet away from resting Hawaiian monk seals and at least 150 feet away from mothers with pups. Those distances are not just some beach etiquette. They are the line between watching protected wildlife and becoming part of another enforcement case.
The Lahaina affidavit also shows how central witnesses have become. Phones, sworn statements, and fast reporting turned this beach encounter into a federal case that followed a visitor home to Washington and is now bringing him back with consequences in court in Hawaii.
Have you too followed the Hawaiian monk seal killings over the past 16 years, or seen the difference in enforcement when there is or isn’t video evidence? What do you think Hawaii should do next to protect its wildlife?
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I’m wondering if the rock that monster threw at Lani hit the end of the log, causing it to slam up into Lani’s head, and possibly knocking her out for a bit?
We too stayed at Lahaina Shores Beach Resort ten days ago. It is located right on the ocean front. The sound of the waves crashing on the sands put us to sleep nightly. Lani, the monk seal, is a beloved neighbor at Lahaina Shores.
After all the legal fees and fines, this jerk probably won’t afford a nice week on the Maui shore for a while. And while he is serving his jail time, he should write an essay about mammal protection from other inconsiderate mammals.
So this guys says he doesn’t care how much the fine costs and then retains not one but three high priced lawyers. Instead of fining him, perhaps a better solution is imprisonment for the maximum time possible in a maximum security facility. Perhaps this will humble this out of control individual.
He should be prosecuted to the full extend of the law.
An adult male throws coconut @ Monk Seal…..this individual should be fined & banded from future Maui visits….case closed.
As a frequent Hawaii visitor and seen dumb tourist acting stupid. I hope this insensitive creep gets the “whole coconut” thrown at him. One of the punishments should be for him to never step foot on the Hawaiian Islands ever again. Aloha
Has anyone seen Lani since the incident?
Welcome to the attitude of the rich.
Regarding the monk seal killings on Molokai..unfortunately the locals prefer to believe old myths that the Spanish brought the seals to Hawaii, they believe the seals eat copious amounts of fish every day that the locals could be catching instead.
Even though most do not fish or net for subsistence on a daily basis.
So instead of believing science and in fact DNA evidence that Hawaiian monk seal are indigenous to the Hawaiian islands, they believe the seals were brought from far away to kill “their” fish.
They would have been great jurors for OJ.
It sickens me to read that this creep may have actually killed Lani. My heart hurts for this little seal who was merely playing with a log while she swam. Reading that she laid on the reef immobile for an hour and a half doesn’t sound promising. Please provide updates on this story – I really hope for a happy ending for Lani. There is just too much tragedy in our world.
It has never made sense for vast numbers of people to hop on jet aircraft and gawk at ‘nature’ … in Hawaii the dynamic has become toxic
The current Lani situation is unusual but hopeful. As a former resident of Maui, I have seen tourists do ridiculous things and locals are the only ones to get involved.
I hope this latest person is made a public example of what should happen to people who violate laws made to protect wildlife. Throw the book at him. He will feel what it’s like to be a target.