Moment man is caught ‘throwing rock at endangered seal’ at popular beach spot

A man is facing a federal investigation after throwing a rock at a protected monk seal in Hawaii before proclaiming, ‘I’m rich!’

Kaylee Schnitzer was on the beach in Lahaina, Maui, when she spotted the man and a woman approaching the endangered animal.

Suddenly, the man allegedly picked up a ‘coconut-sized’ rock before hurling it at the seal. Video footage shows the object landing inches from the visibly spooked creature.

Afterwards, the seal lay down and didn’t move for a while. It is unclear if the animal was hurt.

Kaylee, filming, could be heard in the background of the footage yelling: ‘What are you doing? Why would you throw a rock at it?’

She told KHON 2 that she and a friend later called the police. The man then replied to them: ‘I don’t care. Fine me, I’m rich.’

A Hawaii tourist caught on video hurling a large rock at an endangered seal's head was detained and later allegedly assaulted by locals in retribution.The disturbing attack against the monk seal took place Tuesday on Maui Island. A witness captured a video of the incident that has been making the rounds on social media and fueling outrage.In the video, the rock appears to land close to the seal's head, and it can later be seen floating motionless in the water. Officials have said that the animal was not formally identified and it has not whether it was harmed.Users online have identified the individual who threw the rock as?Igor Lytvynchuk, a 37-year-old man from Seattle, Washington, who owns a shipping company.The woman who took the video,?Kaylee Ku?ukamaleimakamae Schnitzer, said that after she confronted the man, he told her, 'I don't care, fine me. I'm rich' before casually walking away.A second video that has also been circulating on social media purportedly shows a young local punching the seal attacker in the head several times.The victim of the assault appears to have been wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts, which matches the outfit visible in the video of the man attacking the monk seal. — The seal was visibly startled (Picture: Kaylee Schnitzer)

Police arrived at the beach and detained the man, who has been identified as a 37-year-old from Seattle, Washington.

He hasn’t been criminally charged but is facing a federal investigation from the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.

The seal, named by locals as Lani, is known to play and frequent the shallow water off the coast of Lahaina.

There are only an estimated 1,600 mature Hawaiian monk seals left in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

They were declared an endangered species in 1976.

An endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal looks around while sunning itself on Ka'ena Point on the island of Oahu, revealing its wrinkled layers of skin and blubber. — The endangered species enjoy sunbathing and playing in shallow waters (Picture: Getty)

The species is protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the law in the State of Hawaii.

The seals are known to be territorial if threatened by humans or other predators.

In 2022, a monk seal dragged a woman underwater when she got too close to its newborn pup in Waikiki, Hawaii.

Footage from the scene showed the seal, nicknamed Rocky, barking and looking for her pup before charging at the woman.

The woman could be seen trying to get away and splashing at Rocky, but she ended up being dragged underwater. She was taken to hospital with cuts to her face, back and arm.

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