Plot twist: How a Lar Gibbon landed actor Chiyaan Vikram in a soup

Who knew that playing multi-layered characters in Anniyan and Pithamagan would pale in comparison to the drama of casually filming an Instagram Reel?

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has decided to hand Chiyaan Vikram, among Tamil cinema’s top heros, a script he definitely didn't sign up for: a formal summons over an unexpected co-star—an endangered Lar Gibbon.

On a fine Wednesday, while Vikram was busy acting his heart out at an undisclosed film shoot, forest officials showed up not with a bouquet, but with an official notice.

The plot thickens. Vikram has a strict three-day deadline to approach the department office and present a paper trail for the primate—complete with proof of purchase and ownership papers.

Per sources, failing to produce the paperwork in time means trading the luxury of a film set for a crash course in wildlife protection laws. Looks like someone’s about to find out that when it comes to exotic pets, the forest department is a much tougher critic than the Censor Board.

Reel deleted

The notice comes after a now-deleted Instagram reel posted by Vikram earlier this week. He was seen hugging and playing with a young Lar Gibbon. The video, filmed at a private residence, went viral before being removed amid public backlash and scrutiny from wildlife activists and authorities.

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The Lar Gibbon, a small ape native to the forests of Southeast Asia, is listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is also classified under Schedule IV of India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act (as amended).

These protections severely restrict international trade and private possession without statutory clearances. Conservationists long warned that capturing young gibbons often involves killing the mother or even an entire family group, making the pet trade particularly destructive.

Probe launched

Wildlife Warden of the Chennai division Yogesh Kulal and other officials launched an inquiry after the video surfaced. The forest department alleged that the animal was traced to the Injambakkam residence of businessman CK Ranganathan, founder-chairman of FMCG group CavinKare. Vikram's daughter Akshita is married to Ranganathan's son Manu Ranjith. The gibbon, along with a second one, was subsequently moved back to Erode.

Forest department investigations revealed a multi-stage transfer route that hint at possible trafficking, though this is not confirmed.

Per documents, three Lar Gibbons (one male and two females) were allegedly transferred in early June from a Manipur-based individual to SK Keshavanathan of Perundurai in Erode district. Malaysia was recorded as the country of origin. The mode was listed as “adoption” or similar, with Form-I applications pending full approval by the Chief Wildlife Warden.

'Pet purchase'

On August 5, one male and one female were further allegedly transferred from Keshavanathan to Ranganathan in Injambakkam. The documents describe the mode as “purchase” and the purpose as “pet”. These Form-I records under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, also remain pending final clearance.

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Erode District Forest Officer KV Appala Naidu confirmed that a team inspected Keshavanathan’s farm and found the two surviving gibbons. Officials were informed that the third (a female) had died shortly after arrival, but the death was never reported to authorities as required, nor was a veterinary post-mortem conducted a clear procedural violation. The department is verifying whether the death occurred or if an undocumented transfer took place. The animals are set to be confiscated.

Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra said the department is examining the full circumstances under which the animals reached Tamil Nadu and whether all statutory requirements for possession and transfer were met. Preliminary findings suggest transfers occurred even before mandatory possession certificates were secured.

Exotic birds, reptiles found

Reports noted that the Erode middleman described the animals as intended for this Chennai-based businessman, described as a "close associate". Later inspections by Tamil Nadu Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) teams at the Erode facility allegedly uncovered dozens of other exotic birds, primates, and reptiles with unclear or incomplete paperwork.

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Chennai has emerged as a major hub for the illegal and grey-market trade in exotic wildlife, fuelled by rising demand among affluent buyers who view rare primates, birds, and reptiles as status symbols. Animals are frequently trafficked from Southeast Asia via air routes into Chennai International Airport or overland through the Manipur-Myanmar border corridor, then moved to breeding farms in places like Erode, Kolathur, and along the East Coast Road.

Seizure data and studies show Tamil Nadu ranking high in exotic animal interceptions. Gibbons, macaques, turtles, pythons, and various birds routinely appear in enforcement actions.

Breeding farms often operate with incomplete documentation, and cross-border networks exploit enforcement gaps between states and central agencies like the WCCB.

Zoonotic disease concerns

Activists have emphasised that celebrity videos normalising such interactions risk increasing demand and fuelling the very trafficking networks that supply these animals. Keeping arboreal primates like Lar Gibbons in private settings also raises welfare and zoonotic disease concerns.

The investigation continues to examine whether the animals’ journey from purported Malaysian origins through Manipur into Tamil Nadu private residences fully complied with national and international wildlife laws or if it forms part of the larger pattern of exotic animal smuggling that has long troubled enforcement agencies in the state.

Neither Vikram nor representatives of the other parties have issued public statements responding to the latest notice. It's possible he's missing his furry friend.