The controversy surrounding actor Chiyaan Vikram’s viral Lar Gibbon video has taken off now that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has found at least one of the three gibbons linked to the case has died. What we know is that the animals’ origin, transfer records and the circumstances under which they were brought to Tamil Nadu have been questioned again and again.
A video of Vikram interacting with a Lar Gibbon on a private property in Chennai went viral on social media. The actor was seen playing with the animal in the now deleted video, and wildlife activists and conservationists were critical about how the exotic primate had arrived in India and whether all permissions were in place. Vikram removed the post in the face of such widespread criticism.
Three Lar Gibbons— one male and two females— were transferred from Manipur to a farm in Erode in June. A Tamil Nadu Forest Department team which visited the Erode premises found two animals and was informed that one female gibbon had died. The surviving ones were taken back to the Erode-based farm and are now expected to be taken into custody by forest officials as part of the investigation.
The death of one animal has added another dimension to the investigation. The officials are looking into the chain of possession and movement of the gibbons, including how they travelled from Manipur to Erode and later to Chennai. Authorities are also expected to verify whether the required documentation and wildlife clearances were obtained during the transfer process.
Lar Gibbons are native to parts of Southeast Asia and are listed under CITES Appendix I, which places strict controls on international trade and movement. The import or possession of such animals should be approved by CITES-related clearances and approval from wildlife authorities, reports indicate.
And the Forest Department’s investigation is far broader than the viral video of Vikram. The officials are looking into the whole exotic-animal supply chain, and the animals’ origin, ownership, transportation and transfer between different locations, they said.
At this time, there is no verified report that Vikram owned or illegally acquired the gibbon and the actor has not been officially accused of wrongdoing based solely on the viral video. The investigation will determine whether any legal or regulatory violations occurred and who may be responsible for them.
The case has also revived the debate about the risks of keeping exotic wildlife in private settings and the responsibility of public figures to post interactions with protected or regulated species online.
As forest officials continue to investigate, the death of one gibbon and the return of the surviving pair to Erode have made the Vikram Lar Gibbon controversy much more serious with authorities now focused on tracing the animals' journey and establishing whether proper legal procedures were followed.
Comments
Please to leave a comment on this article.