Chiyaan Vikram recently shared a video featuring him with a Lar Gibbon, which sparked concerns over the legality of keeping the animal and prompted a Forest Department probe. During the inquiry, officials found that one of the three gibbons had died. The surviving pair were found at a breeder’s farm in Erode.
Vikram’s gibbon controversy deepens
As per a report by The New Indian Express, Erode District Forest Officer Venkata Appala Naidu said a Forest Department team visited a breeder’s farm in Erode on Tuesday and found two Lar Gibbons. The team was informed that a female gibbon had died, though the breeder had not reported the death to the department. The animal’s age and cause of death remain unknown. Under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, the death of a registered animal must be reported to the authorities along with a post-mortem report issued by a veterinary practitioner. Documents reportedly show that three Lar Gibbons, comprising one male and two females, were transferred from Manipur to Erode-based S K Keshavanathan in the first week of June.
For the unversed, CK Ranganathan is the Founder Chairman of CavinKare. Additionally, he is also Vikram’s daughter’s father-in-law.
About Vikram’s video
Tamil actor Chiyaan Vikram is facing trouble after a video featuring him hugging a Lar Gibbon went viral on social media. While fans online initially praised the actor’s adorable interaction with the animal, it soon changed after the post drew criticism. A journalist alleged that keeping a Lar Gibbon as a pet is illegal in the country. Soon, animal activists also took notice of the video and began raising concerns online. Wildlife activists, however, have raised concerns about the legality of keeping a Lar Gibbon as a pet without the necessary documents. They have also alleged that the animal could have been trafficked from Southeast Asia.
A report in the Free Press Journal said the video had landed Vikram’s daughter’s father-in-law, businessman CK Ranganathan, in trouble over his alleged links to the trade of exotic animals. As the controversy deepened, the video was deleted 24 hours after reports emerged that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department had initiated an enquiry.
On the work front, Vikram was last seen in director SU Arun Kumar’s Veera Dheera Sooran. He recently announced his upcoming films with directors Anand Shankar and Bodi Rajkumar.
Vikram’s gibbon row intensifies after one dies, two found in Erode
