{"id":25902,"date":"2026-05-13T10:53:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=25902"},"modified":"2026-05-13T10:53:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:53:04","slug":"man-given-reward-after-beating-up-tourist-who-threw-rock-at-beloved-seal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=25902","title":{"rendered":"Man given reward after beating up tourist who threw rock at beloved seal!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\">\n<div class=\"relative w-full overflow-visible\">\n<section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-WEB:c46a5914-0f80-46d4-8bbb-91b9461d4e7f-8\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-WEB:c46a5914-0f80-46d4-8bbb-91b9461d4e7f-8\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-18\" data-scroll-anchor=\"false\" data-turn=\"assistant\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"701d31cd-bac3-4afc-a52b-60d785f68de2\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\">\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"374\">A tourist accused of throwing a large rock at Lani, a beloved endangered Hawaiian monk seal in Maui, sparked outrage after witnesses said he aimed it toward the animal\u2019s head while she rested near Lahaina\u2019s shoreline. The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Seattle visitor Igor Lytvynchuk, allegedly ignored warnings from bystanders and reportedly said, \u201cFine me, I\u2019m rich.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"378\" data-end=\"663\">The incident, filmed by local resident Kaylee Schnitzer, quickly went viral online. Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered and protected under federal law, making the act especially disturbing to locals who deeply care for Lani, a symbol of recovery after Maui\u2019s 2023 wildfires.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"667\" data-end=\"965\">Soon after, an angry local confronted the tourist physically, knocking him to the ground and punching him in front of shocked beachgoers. The video spread rapidly online, with many viewers praising the unidentified man for defending the seal, though officials stressed they do not support violence.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"969\" data-end=\"1256\">Hawaii state Sen. Brenton Awa later revealed the local man even received a recognition letter from lawmakers, calling him an \u201cAmbassador of Aloha.\u201d Maui Mayor Richard Bissen also defended Lani, saying she is part of Lahaina\u2019s \u201cocean family\u201d and promised authorities would pursue justice.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1260\" data-end=\"1468\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">According to Hawaii\u2019s Department of Land and Natural Resources, the suspect was questioned but released after requesting a lawyer. The case remains under federal review under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=newsner&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2053846589735678337&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fen.newsner.com%2Fanimals%2Fman-given-reward-after-beating-up-tourist-who-threw-rock-at-beloved-seal%2F&amp;sessionId=b3eb47c0522ce27806e3f0ef3fadd115b012ae14&amp;siteScreenName=newsner&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"2053846589735678337\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A tourist accused of throwing a large rock at Lani, a beloved endangered Hawaiian monk seal in Maui, sparked outrage after witnesses said he aimed it toward the animal\u2019s head while she rested near Lahaina\u2019s shoreline. The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Seattle visitor Igor Lytvynchuk, allegedly ignored warnings from bystanders and reportedly said, \u201cFine me,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=25902\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Man given reward after beating up tourist who threw rock at beloved seal!&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25904,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25902\/revisions\/25904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}