Hawaiian authorities issued a warning to the public back in 2021 that they would use social media to track down and prosecute people caught terrorizing local wildlife. That message came at a time when tourists were filming interactions with animals and posting them to social media, ignorant to the dangers of doing so and how inappropriate it is.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has dedicated staff assigned to scour the internet for videos and the department has even encouraged locals to come forward when they see others, tourists or otherwise, interacting with endangered wildlife. People are instructed to stay at least 50 feet away from monk seals, specifically, and 150 feet away from mothers with pups, while touching the animals has brought fines, usually in the range of $500 to $1,000, according to various headlines over the years. One violator in Lahaina’s burn zone, however, just became the subject of what the DLNR called “the most incriminating footage they’ve seen yet,” and locals were quick to remind the man it could cost him far more than a few hundred bucks.
The video, which was sent to HHHNewz Wednesday and posted online, shows a man and a woman standing on the beach while a monk seal swims nearby. Young locals filmed the two standing and watching the seal and say they warned the pair that they were standing too close to the animal. The couple reportedly followed it as she swam further down the beach, and at one point, the man tossed a large rock at the seal. The video clearly shows the rock landing just inches away from the seal’s head.
The young girls filming can be heard confronting the tourist but keeping their distance. They say they warned him of the steep penalty for what he’d just done, and say he responded with, “I don’t care, I’m rich. I love Maui and I visit here every few months.”
According to HHHNewz, officials have confirmed the man will be federally prosecuted.
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