CHENNAI: Actor Vikram’s playful video with a Lar Gibbon, posted on Instagram and subsequently taken down, has spotlighted the illegal trade and transfer of exotic wild animals in Tamil Nadu, with state forest department officials launching an investigation into how the animal reached a private residence in Injambakkam, Chennai.
Lar Gibbons are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix I and cannot be acquired without the requisite CITES import and export permissions, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) documentation and permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state to which it is being imported.
Officials told TNIE that the video was shot at the residence of Vikram’s relatives in Injambakkam. Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra said the department is examining the circumstances under which the animal reached the city and whether all statutory requirements governing possession and transfer of the exotic species were complied with.
Documents accessed by TNIE show that the trail of the Lar Gibbon can be traced back to Erode and, before that, Manipur. Records indicate that 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 document records their country of origin as Malaysia.
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 Laikhuram Singh in Manipur to SK Keshavanathan in Perundurai, Erode. The transaction is dated June 5, 2026, and the document describes the transfer as being for adoption. The Form-1 is still pending approval of the Chief Wildlife Warden of TN.
Another Form-I records a further transfer of one male and one female Lar Gibbon from Keshavanathan to Chinni Krishna Ranganathan of Injambakkam, Chennai, on August 5, 2026. It lists the mode of transfer as purchase and the purpose as 'pet'. This Form-1 is also pending approval of TN's Chief Wildlife Warden.
Officials pointed out that mere registration of an exotic animal does not automatically establish that its possession or subsequent transfer was lawful, particularly when CITES requirements and permissions governing international trade and transfer have to be examined.
Meanwhile, sources told TNIE that the Gibbon in the video is only two-three years old, which means it cannot be the animal declared in 2020 by Singh. Interestingly, Singh was only 20 years old in 2020 according to the date of birth in his Aadhaar card. Experts questioned the legality of the entire transaction as the Manipur-Myanmar route is a notorious international transit corridor for the illegal wildlife and exotic pet trade.
Former CITES Assistant Management Authority and former India Country Head of TRAFFIC Shekhar Kumar Niraj said animals of foreign origin already in India could be declared under the amnesty advisory only within the prescribed period, which ended in March 2021. "Even when animals were covered by the amnesty advisory, the state Chief Wildlife Warden had to conduct a mandatory physical inspection before issuing a possession certificate. The temporary amnesty advisory did not dilute CITES restrictions, particularly the prohibition on commercial trade in Appendix-I species," he added.
TNIE's efforts to reach out to Singh, Kesavanathan, and industrialist Ranganathan's office were futile, whereas actor Vikram's PA claimed ignorance of the controversy.
