Video of actor Vikram with Lar Gibbon: Tamil Nadu Forest Department probes

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has sought an ownership certificate and other documents from individuals for possession of a Lar Gibbon, after a video of actor Vikram playing with and hugging the animal went viral and drew backlash.

Yogesh Kulal, Wildlife Warden, Chennai, said the animal has since been moved to Erode from businessman C.K. Ranganathan’s residence in Injambakkam.

The Lar Gibbon (Hylobates lar) is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Its import requires the requisite CITES import and export permissions, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) documentation and permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State to which it is being imported.

Videograb of actor Vikram with Lar Gibbon in his (now deleted) social media post
| Photo Credit:
Instagram/@the_real_chiyaan

Sources said the trail of the Lar Gibbons can be traced to Erode and, before that, to Manipur. As per records, a Manipur-based stockholder, Laikhuram Singh, declared eight Lar Gibbons — four males and four females — in 2020 under the declaration of stock of exotic live species through PARIVESH 1. The records identify Malaysia as their country of origin.

A subsequent Form I under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, records the transfer of three Lar Gibbons — one male and two females — from Mr. Singh in Manipur to S.K. Keshavanathan in Perundurai, Erode for adoption.

K.V. Appala Naidu, District Forest Officer, Erode, said a male and a female gibbon were found on the premises and Mr. Keshavanathan informed that he had applied for possession of three gibbons, but one animal had died earlier. “We need to verify if the animal actually died or if there was an undocumented transfer,” he said.

According to sources, Mr. Ranganathan is said to have obtained the animals from Mr. Keshavanathan. However, the transfer certificate is yet to be approved by authorities. 

The Lar Gibbon (Hylobates lar) is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). File Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra said the department was examining the circumstances under which the animals reached Tamil Nadu and whether all statutory requirements governing their possession and transfer had been complied with.

Wildlife and animal welfare activist Antony Clement Rubin said keeping primates as pets could increase the risk of zoonotic disease transmission, particularly at a time when animal-to-human spillover of pathogens is being increasingly documented.

He also said a celebrity of Mr. Vikram’s stature posting a video of himself interacting with a Lar Gibbon could fuel demand for such vulnerable animals, which are trafficked through illegal wildlife networks.