Tourist who got beat up for throwing rocks at beloved seal sent vile item in the mail

Despite denying that he ever intended to hurt the beloved seal, the US tourist is continuing to face huge backlash both online and in real life.

Earlier this month, footage of Igor Lytvynchuk throwing a rock at the critically-endangered monk seal went viral, particularly after he was subsequently beaten up for his actions.

Locals made it clear this his actions wouldn't be tolerated and he was later arrested on 13 May in Seattle and charged with harassing and attempting to harass an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, in violation of the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

While the man who threw punches was given a reward, Lytvynchuk wasn't so lucky, as he realised that the seal he'd allegedly targeted was actually known locally as Lani, a beloved animal who is seen as a symbol of the island's resilience following the Lahaina wildfires in 2023.

(Hawaii News Now)

Things are only getting worse for the Ukrainian US citizen because if the threat of a one-year sentence and the hefty $50,000 fine wasn't already enough, he's now received a rather c**ppy gift in the mail. And I use that description literally, since someone decided to send him a bag of faeces.

How and why the mailman in the states managed to actually deliver that is one question but it's been a rough few weeks for Lytvynchuk since he was first beaten up, with his lawyer suggesting that he's also been brutally assaulted, doxxed, and has received hate mail since the incident.

His attorney even suggested that he's being targeted because he's 'white', with the 38-year-old continuing to claim that he was simply protecting some sea turtles when he threw the rock and that he never had any intention of hurting the seal.

(Hawaii News Now)

Hawaii News Now also reported that Breiner said Lytvynchuk 'had no idea of the significance of monk seals' and that he 'assumed that he was doing something good by scaring it away'.

"He’s devastated at the notion that people thought he wanted to injure the seal," the lawyer went on. "He’s going to pay the price. We’re not going into court and saying, "No, he didn’t do this' - but there’s always an explanation."

Although he has suggested that he has the money to pay the fine, his lawyer Rob Breiner is clearly intent on winning any legal case, as he claims that his client's intentions were good.

“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.”

Lytvynchuk supposedly grew fearful for the sea turtles as he has witnessed how 'aggressive' some marine animals like sea lions can be while fishing in Washington, Breiner said.

The lawyer continued: "Sea lions are very aggressive. They’ll take your bait, they’ll take your fish - that’s been his experience."