Marine Corps Base Hawaii is investigating a shocking video of what appears to be a smiling Marine throwing a puppy off the top of a steep desert hillside in Iraq into a gully below.

The video yesterday gained international attention and condemnation on the Internet. Many comments expressed anger at the Marine in the 17-second clip while others wondered if what appeared to be a horrific act was faked or the puppy already was dead.

"This guy is sick and deserves to rot in the good ol' American penal system," said one commentator at www.digg.com.

A post at www.YouTube.com, where the video was still available last night, said the Marines as a whole shouldn't be blamed.

"It has to do with chucking puppies for fun, dead or not," the commentator said. "The fact that this is acceptable to someone is the real crime."

Marine Corps Base Hawaii released a statement saying, "The video is shocking and deplorable and is contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine."

The video came to the attention of officials yesterday morning, the base said.

Two Marines are seen in combat gear smiling as one holds what appears to be a white-and-black puppy by the scruff of its neck. The dog seems to be about 8 weeks old and is motionless as it is held.

"Cute little puppy, huh?" says one Marine as he smiles broadly.

"Oh so cute, so cute, little puppy," says another in a childlike voice.

The Marine holding what seems to be a puppy is then seen flinging the animal overhand into a desertlike gully below. Yelps accompany the end-over-end tumble until it thuds to the ground at the bottom of the gully.

"That's mean," one Marine says afterward. "That was mean, Motari."

Maj. Chris Perrine, a Marine spokesman, said a Lance Cpl. David Motari is with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kane'ohe Bay.

Motari returned to Hawai'i in October from Haqlaniyah, Iraq, after a seven-month deployment, Perrine said. The 1,000 Marines with the 1st Battalion were stationed in the "Triad" area of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana northwest of Baghdad.

Motari could not be reached for comment.

"We're still trying to figure out, is this a legitimate video?" Perrine said. "Was it edited? Is it (Motari) who's in it? We don't know. We'll find that out hopefully sooner rather than later."

Colin Macdonald, an assistant professor in the University of Hawai'i's School of Communications, said he would have a really hard time determining whether the video was real or a hoax.

"I wouldn't be able to conclusively say that a) the dog was alive or, assuming it was alive, b) that it's the same dog that gets thrown," he said.

He points out that the Marine brings his hand out of frame before throwing the puppy and giving time to substitute in something that looks like a puppy.

Macdonald said the sound could also have been problematic, since it's more clear than he would expect from a camcorder, assuming that's what the Marines were using.

Experts might be able to tell more from the original footage, but Macdonald points out that part of the magic of movies is that it can make something seem false when it actually isn't.

"It would have been pretty easy to fake it, which doesn't say it isn't real," he said. "The problem is most of us don't have any good ways to analyze video."

Motari, on a www.bebo.com social networking page, identified himself as a 22-year-old from Seattle.

On the page he says he is scared of "nothing," and is happiest "chillin' out, sleeping, playing sports, hittin' the gym, hangin' with friends, with my family, at home, Fridays, eating, running, cruisin', and definitely when I get out of the Marine Corps."

Web postings say he is married. MySpace and other networking sites for Motari and family members were changed to restricted access yesterday or were removed.

The Everett, Wash., Herald said a woman at the home listed for the Marine in Washington state declined to talk.

"Could you just leave? We already know why you're here," the woman told the newspaper. "Just go. There's nothing to say."

Marine Corps Base Hawaii said the vast majority of Marines "conduct their duties in an honorable manner that brings great credit upon the Marine Corps and the United States."

There have been numerous stories of Marines adopting pets and bringing them home from Iraq or helping to arrange life-saving medical care for Iraqi children, the base said.

"Those are the stories that exemplify what we stand for and how most Marines behave," the Marine release added.

Perrine said appropriate action would be taken, and the case "is something we're taking extremely seriously."

Military investigators and lawyers will look at whether there was a violation of law or regulations, he said.

"We'll look at all the options," Perrine said.

Hawai'i Marines are on continuing rotations to Iraq, and the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, recently replaced a sister unit, the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com and Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.