Feds arrest tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered seal's head

Crime Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaii monk seal's head is arrested by federal agents May 14, 2026 / 6:16 AM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google A tourist who drew widespread condemnation in Hawaii after a witness recorded him chucking a coconut-sized rock at "Lani," a beloved, endangered Hawaiian monk seal off a Maui beach, was arrested Wednesday by federal agents.Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is charged with harassing a protected animal, the U.S. attorney's office in Honolulu said, adding that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration special agents arrested him near Seattle. He was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday.The court docket didn't list an attorney, and a person who answered the phone at a number associated with Lytvynchuk declined to comment.A state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer last week investigated a report of Hawaiian monk seal harassment in Lahaina, the community that was largely destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2023. A witness showed the officer video of the seal swimming in shallow water while a man watched from shore. Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk is charged with harassing a protected animal, the U.S. attorney's office in Honolulu said. Department of Justice "In the cellphone video, the man can be seen holding a large rock with one hand, aiming, and throwing it directly at the monk seal," prosecutors said a criminal complaint. The rock narrowly missed the seal's head, but caused the "animal to abruptly alter its behavior," the complaint said.When a witness confronted the man, he said "he did not care and was 'rich' enough to pay any fines," the complaint said.Maui resident Kaylee Schnitzer, 18, told HawaiiNewsNow she witnessed the incident while taking photos nearby. "What he was picking up was like a rock the size of a coconut," Schnitzer said. "It wasn't no small rock. It was the size of a coconut. And he threw it right, directly aiming tow...