Two Marines are seen in combat gear smiling as one holds 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 child-like voice.

The Marine holding the puppy is then seen throwing the animal overhand into a desert-like gully below. The animal yelps until it thuds to the ground at the bottom of the gully.

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

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

"The video is shocking and deplorable and is contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine," the Kane'ohe Bay base said in a release.

Base officials said the video came to their attention this morning [March 3]. An investigation has been initiated. Maj. Chris Perrine, a Marine spokesman here, said "it's looking like" the Marine is based out of Hawai'i.

"We do not tolerate this type of behavior and will take appropriate action," the base said.

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.