
Actor Vikram is under investigation after an Instagram reel showing him cuddling a lar gibbon, an endangered primate, sparked a wildlife violation probe. The Times of India reports conservationists raised the alarm…
Actor Vikram is under investigation after an Instagram reel showing him cuddling a lar gibbon, an endangered primate, sparked a wildlife violation probe. The Times of India reports conservationists raised the alarm as the species is protected under CITES Appendix I and India’s Wildlife Protection Act.

The case deepened when officials discovered one of three lar gibbons acquired by an Erode-based breeder had died without being reported to the Forest Department, Times Now reports. The surviving pair have been moved back to Erode. The Forest Department is verifying transfer documents from Manipur to Chennai and whether the animal was legally procured and registered.
The lar gibbon controversy has two tired narratives taking shape: that a celebrity is being unfairly targeted, or that anyone who keeps an exotic pet is a villain. Neither helps. The real story is a system failure, three protected animals moved across states, one dead, no report filed. The test is simple: did the breeder follow the 2024 reporting rules, and can the chain of possession hold up to scrutiny? Answers will tell us if India’s exotic pet laws have any teeth.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.