A man seen throwing a rock toward an endangered Hawaiian monk seal did so to protect turtles and is “devastated” that people might think he wanted to hurt wildlife, his defense attorney has said.
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According to a criminal complaint unsealed last week, Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, from Washington, was seen and filmed on May 5, 2026, walking along the shoreline in the Lahaina area of Maui while following the movements of a Hawaiian monk seal known as Lani. The incident gained widespread attention after a witness posted video footage online.
The complaint alleges that Lytvynchuk then picked up a large rock, aimed it at the seal and threw it toward Lani’s head. Authorities said the rock narrowly missed the seal’s nose, startling the animal and causing it to rear out of the water.
Lytvynchuk’s attorney, Myles Breiner, has publicly defended his client. “I want to be resoundingly clear to the public — he never intended to injure the monk seal,” Breiner told KHON-TV.
Breiner said Lytvynchuk believed he was trying to protect sea turtles that were resting on rocks near the shoreline.
“He wanted to scare the seal away from the honu he saw there,” Breiner said. “Apparently, there were two large turtles and one had already been knocked off the rock by the seal.”
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According to Breiner, Lytvynchuk was unaware that Hawaiian monk seals are endangered and was influenced by previous experiences with aggressive sea lions while fishing in Washington state.
“Sea lions are very aggressive,” Breiner said. “They’ll take your bait, they’ll take your fish — that’s been his experience.”
Asked in a separate interview if Lytvynchuk was apologetic, Breiner told Hawaii News Now, “absolutely, no, he’s devastated at the notion that people thought he wanted to injure the seal.”
“He was doing something good by scarring it away.”
Lytvynchuk’s first court appearance is scheduled to take place in Honolulu on May 27.
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This is a developing story; updates to follow.
