Tamil actor Chiyaan Vikram got into trouble with wildlife after a video of him playing with a Lar Gibbon in India went viral. The actor was seen cuddling and playing with the exotic primate in the now-deleted Instagram video. From a light-hearted moment, the animal’s origin and the legality of its possession were the subject of discussion.
The controversy intensified as wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists questioned whether the Lar Gibbon was documented and required the necessary documentation and permissions to be kept in India. The Tamil Nadu Forest Department is also investigating the animal’s history and how it arrived in the state. There has been no official evidence of illegal activity or violation of law by Vikram as the investigation is still underway.
The animal was identified as Lar Gibbon (Hylobates lar), a species which is subject to a conservation crisis and is protected internationally through CITES. The gibbon is linked to businessman C.K. Ranganathan, Vikram’s daughter Akshita’s father-in-law. It has also been claimed that the animal was brought to Tamil Nadu from Manipur earlier this year. Wildlife activists wonder if there is all the necessary documentation for its possession.
The video was removed from Vikram’s social media account shortly after the issue was brought up. The deletion has added to the online discussion but is not evidence of wrongdoing. Vikram has not publicly commented on the controversy so far. The Forest Department will investigate this animal’s ownership history, source and whether the relevant legal requirements were followed.
And the incident has also revived the debate on celebrity interaction with exotic and protected wildlife. Conservationists say that keeping wild animals as pets on social media can give the impression that keeping them is normal or acceptable. But for now, we are seeing the Tamil Nadu Forest Department’s investigation and we will not know what is happening in terms of the investigation until officials complete their inquiry regarding illegal possession or trafficking, and if so, we’ll refer to it as allegations and not facts. Vikram’s deleted reel has turned from a cute viral moment into a broader discussion about wildlife protection and exotic-animal ownership and responsible social media behaviour.
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