Indian actor's video with endangered gibbon sparks investigation

What the report says

Indian wildlife officials have opened an investigation after a now-deleted Instagram video appeared to show Tamil actor Vikram hugging and playing with a lar gibbon, an endangered small ape. The clip, posted on Monday, quickly spread online and prompted questions about how the animal came to be in a private home in Chennai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

According to the report, Tamil Nadu forest authorities are checking whether the required permits and transfer documents were in place and whether rules for keeping a CITES-listed species were followed. Officials have not concluded that the gibbon was trafficked, that Vikram owned it, or that he helped bring it into India. Vikram, whose full name is Kennedy John Victor, has not publicly commented, and his representative said any statement would be shared if he chose to issue one.

The inquiry has also reached beyond Tamil Nadu. A senior forest official said investigators traced the animal through records on India’s PARIVESH portal to a Manipur-based declaration involving multiple lar gibbons, with later transfers recorded to a person in Erode district and then to Vikram’s relative in Chennai. Authorities are now trying to verify the animals’ origin, including whether approvals were obtained at each stage.

The case has drawn wider attention because lar gibbons are protected under international wildlife trade rules and because India has seen repeated seizures of exotic animals in recent years. As background, officials say import and possession of such animals require specific permits and wildlife clearances, but the current case remains under review.