{"id":952621,"date":"2026-05-11T12:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/952621\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T12:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:48:20","slug":"moment-man-is-caught-throwing-rock-at-endangered-seal-at-beach-news-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/952621\/","title":{"rendered":"Moment man is caught ‘throwing rock at endangered seal’ at beach | News US"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man is facing a federal investigation after throwing a rock at a protected monk seal in Hawaii<\/a> before proclaiming, \u2018I\u2019m rich!\u2019<\/p>\n

Kaylee Schnitzer was on the beach in Lahaina, Maui, when she spotted the man and a woman approaching the endangered animal.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, the man allegedly picked up a \u2018coconut-sized\u2019 rock before hurling it at the seal. Video footage shows the object landing inches from the visibly spooked creature.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, the seal lay down and didn\u2019t move for a while. It is unclear if the animal was hurt.<\/p>\n

Kaylee, filming, could be heard in the background of the footage yelling: \u2018What are you doing? Why would you throw a rock at it?\u2019<\/p>\n

She told KHON 2 that she and a friend later called the police. The man then replied to them: \u2018I don\u2019t care. Fine me, I\u2019m rich.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"A
\n\t\tThe seal was visibly startled (Picture: Kaylee Schnitzer)<\/p>\n

Police arrived at the beach and detained the man, who has been identified as a 37-year-old from Seattle<\/a>, Washington.<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t been criminally charged but is facing a federal investigation from the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.<\/p>\n

The seal, named by locals as Lani, is known to play and frequent the shallow water off the coast of Lahaina. <\/p>\n

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

They were declared an endangered species in 1976.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"An
\n\t\tThe endangered species enjoy sunbathing and playing in shallow waters (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

The species is protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the law in the State of Hawaii.<\/p>\n

The seals are known to be territorial if threatened by humans or other predators.<\/p>\n

In 2022, a monk seal dragged a woman underwater <\/a>when she got too close to its newborn pup in Waikiki, Hawaii.<\/p>\n

Footage from the scene showed the seal, nicknamed Rocky, barking and looking for her pup before charging at the woman.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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