A 38-year-old man from Covington, Washington became widely known after video showed him hurling coconut-sized rocks at a locally famous Hawaiian monk seal on a Maui beach. He was arrested by special agents with NOAA and is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison for each charge and fines up to $70,000 under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. His lawyer claims the rocks were thrown to protect sea turtles from monk seal attacks, but Hawaiian monk seals do not prey on sea turtles.
"Unless, of course, we have it all wrong, as Lytvynchuk's lawyer stresses. According to attorney Myles Breiner, his client was actually hurling huge rocks for the most noble of reasons: to protect sea turtles from vicious monk seal attack. Now, the fact that Hawaiian monk seals actually do not prey on sea turtle"
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