BBC News
· collected 2026-08-14 · by Zoya Mateen, Vijayanand Arumugam
- Published
A video posted by a Tamil film star showing him cuddling an endangered gibbon has triggered an investigation by Indian wildlife officials over how he came into contact with the animal.
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he → publish → animal
Vikram, an award-winning actor from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, was seen hugging and playing with a lar gibbon in a now-deleted video posted on Instagram on Monday.
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Vikram → win → Monday
The state's forest department has since begun investigating how the gibbon came to be at a private home and whether rules governing its possession and transfer were followed.
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rules → begin → possession
They have not concluded that the animal was trafficked, or that Vikram owned it or was involved in bringing it into India.
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Vikram → conclude → India
Vikram has not commented on the controversy yet.
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Vikram → comment → controversy
His public relations officer, Yuvaraj, told BBC Tamil that the media would be informed if the actor issued a statement.
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actor → tell → statement
Lar gibbons are small apes native to south-east Asia whose international trade is tightly controlled.
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trade → control → Asia
Officials said the animal was being kept at the home of a relative of Vikram in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.
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animal → say → state
The state's Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra told BBC Tamil that individuals could keep a lar gibbon if they had the permits and documentation required by law.
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they → tell → law
"An investigation is under way into where the lar gibbon came from.
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gibbon → come → where
Only then can we say whether it was brought illegally," he said.
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he → say → ?
The case has made national headlines.
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case → make → headlines
His career spans more than three decades and he is known for taking on unconventional and physically demanding roles.
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he → span → roles
Lar gibbons are small apes covered in blonde or dark brown fur, with a distinctive ring of white fur around their faces.
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gibbons → cover → faces
They live in tropical forests in small family groups and are found across parts of south-east Asia, including Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.
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They → live → Thailand
The species is listed as endangered, with its numbers threatened by habitat loss, hunting and the illegal pet trade.
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numbers → list → loss
They are also protected under CITES, an international agreement that tightly restricts trade in endangered species.
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that → protect → species
India is among the countries that has incorporated protections for CITES-listed species into its wildlife laws.
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that → incorporate → laws
People who keep such animals must register them with wildlife authorities and follow rules governing their possession and transfer.
"To import exotic animals, it is necessary to submit a DGFT [Directorate General of Foreign Trade] permit and a no-objection certificate, and then a wildlife conservator's certificate," Dogra said.
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Dogra → keep → permit
The controversy began on Monday when Vikram posted the video of himself playing with the lar gibbon on Instagram.
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Vikram → begin → Instagram
The footage quickly spread online, with some media reports describing the animal as the actor's new pet.
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reports → spread → pet
It was deleted from his account within hours.
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It → delete → hours
The short video has since led wildlife officials down a trail stretching more than 2,000km (1,240 miles) away to the north-eastern state of Manipur.
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video → lead → Manipur
A senior Tamil Nadu forest official, speaking to BBC Tamil on condition of anonymity, said they had found the animal was among eight lar gibbons - four males and four females - that a Manipur-based man had declared on the government's PARIVESH portal in 2020.
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man → speak → 2020
PARIVESH is the official platform used to register exotic animals and obtain environment, forest and wildlife-related permissions in India.
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PARIVESH → use → India
According to records on the portal, Malaysia was listed as the animals' country of origin.
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Malaysia → accord → origin
Records cited by the official show that on 5 June this year, one male and two female lar gibbons were transferred from Manipur to a person in Perundurai in Tamil Nadu's Erode district.
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male → cite → district
The stated purpose was adoption.
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purpose → state → ?
But investigators have not yet found documentation showing that permission from Tamil Nadu's Chief Wildlife Warden had been obtained for the animals to be brought into the state, the official said.
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official → find → state
Two months later, on 5 August, one male and one female gibbon were transferred from Perundurai to Vikram's relative in Chennai, according to the Forest Department's investigation.
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male → transfer → investigation
Investigators are now trying to establish the precise origins of the gibbons and whether the necessary documentation was in place at each stage of their journey.
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documentation → try → journey
Wildlife activists have also raised questions about how the animals originally entered India.
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animals → raise → India
Manipur borders Myanmar, and India's north-east has been flagged as a route for the illegal trade in exotic wildlife, although authorities have not concluded that the gibbons in this case were trafficked.
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gibbons → border → case
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department says it is examining their documentation, including whether rules governing the international movement and possession of CITES-listed animals were followed.
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rules → say → animals
India's Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), a federal agency that investigates organised wildlife crime, has also become involved in the case.
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that → investigate → case
Thenmozhi, the bureau's Southern Zone Deputy Director, told BBC Tamil that it had written to wildlife officials in Chennai asking them to verify documents and take appropriate action.
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it → tell → action
"The lar gibbon is classified as a protected species under this agreement.
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gibbon → classify → agreement
They should only be handled as protected animals," Thenmozhi said, referring to CITES.
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Thenmozhi → handle → CITES
The WCCB said further action would depend on what officials found during their investigation.
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officials → say → investigation
The case comes amid wider concern about illegal trade of exotic animals into India.
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case → come → India
…and 5 more, not listed.
