‘Repulsive’ tourist who threw rock at seal claims – Travel News
Arrogant tourist who threw large rock at Hawaiian seal provides ridiculous motive for assault The entitl (Image: Courtesy Kaylee Schnitzer)
A 37-year-old tourist is dealing with federal expenses after throwing a massive rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, referred to as Lani, as she swam off the shoreline in Lahaina.
Video footage shared on social media captured the customer’s “repulsive” actions on May 5, resulting in a native Hawaiian serving “karma” by repeatedly hitting the tourist after different beachgoers witnessed the occasion in horror. The native was broadly praised online and within the group for serving justice.
Now, Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, is claiming he was solely making an attempt to guard the turtles by scaring the seal away, his lawyer informed reporters.
This undated drivers license picture supplied by the U.S. District Court of Hawaii exhibits Igor Mykhaylo (Image: AP)
“I want to be resoundingly clear to the public – he never intended to injure the monk seal,” legal professional Myles Breiner informed KHON-TV News. “He wanted to scare the seal away from the honu he saw there.”
“Apparently, there were two large turtles, and one had already been knocked off the rock by the seal,” Breiner went on. “Sea lions are very aggressive.”
The tourist from Seattle sparked outrage by way of a viral video after he was filmed throwing the “coconut-sized” rock at the beloved at a Hawaiian monk seal. Lytvynchuk is dealing with a federal charge of disturbing or harassing an endangered animal, which carries a potential sentence of up to 1 12 months in jail and a $50,000 positive.
Lytvynchuk, who owns a logistics and trucking company in Kent, Washington, was confronted by a witness following the incident. When challenged about his actions, he reportedly bragged about his wealth.
Arrogant tourist who threw huge rock at Hawaiian seal gives ridiculous reason for attack The entitl (Image: Courtesy Kaylee Schnitzer)
He displayed a full lack of regret when a lady filmed the occasion, allegedly stating, “I don’t care. Fine me. I’m rich.”
“He recognizes he made a bad decision,” Breiner mentioned. The lawyer additionally claimed the boastful assertion attributed to his shopper was truly, “I can afford it.”
After the initial incident, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen made a video saying, “Let me be clear, this is not the kind of visitor we welcome on Maui. We welcome respectful visitors who understand that our cultural environment and wildlife must be treated with care and aloha. Behavior like this will not be tolerated.”
Arrogant tourist who threw huge rock at Hawaiian seal gives ridiculous reason for attack The entitl (Image: Courtesy Kaylee Schnitzer)
State Senator Brenton Awa (R-23rd Dist.) praised the local who confronted Lytvynchuk and even presented him with a letter of gratitude at a state meeting. “Some of us have seen environmental activists, I like to call them, who took matters into their own hands to educate what might happen when you mess with our lands or the animals,” Awa said. “Our attorney over here wants to make it clear we don’t condone violence, but we did make a letter of recognition for Mr. Ambassador of Aloha.”
Awa went on, “And I do just want to say that from our caucus, we see this all the time with people with a different type of mentality coming in and destroying our stuff, essentially, in this case, animals. But we’d like at least the airline to play this type of video on all incoming flights so people don’t do this kind of stuff.”
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