3 weeks ago
Vikram's Lar Gibbon Controversy Deepens As One Dies, Pair Returned
Some animals are very special because not many are left in the world, and the Lar Gibbon is one of them.
A man named Vikram made a video of himself hugging one of these special gibbons and put it on Instagram.
The video was later deleted, but people had already seen it.
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department, the people who protect forests and wildlife, started looking into what happened.
They found out that one of three Lar Gibbons cared for by a breeder in Erode had died.
The people who take care of animals are supposed to tell the Forest Department when something like that happens, but they were not told.
Now officials are asking questions about how the gibbons traveled from Manipur to Erode and how one ended up with Vikram in Chennai.
To keep the remaining two gibbons safe while the investigation continues, they were moved back to Erode.
It is important to follow the rules when looking after endangered animals.
Vikram's now-deleted Instagram reel showing him cuddling an endangered Lar Gibbon drew the attention of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.
Officials discovered that one of three Lar Gibbons acquired by an Erode-based breeder had died without the department being informed.
The surviving pair of Lar Gibbons has reportedly been moved back to Erode amid the investigation.
Questions have been raised over the gibbons' chain of possession and their transfer from Manipur to Erode.
The case has deepened over how one of the Lar Gibbons ended up with Vikram in Chennai.
- Who
- Vikram, whose deleted Instagram reel showed him cuddling a Lar Gibbon, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, and an Erode-based breeder.
- What
- One of three endangered Lar Gibbons acquired by an Erode-based breeder died without the department being informed; the surviving pair was moved back to Erode amid an investigation.
- Where
- Erode, where the breeder is based and the surviving pair was returned; Manipur, the transfer origin; and Chennai, where one gibbon ended up with Vikram.
- When
- No specific dates are given; the reel was posted and later deleted, and the investigation is ongoing.
- Why
- Because the death of an endangered gibbon was not reported to the Forest Department, and there are questions over the chain of possession and transfer of the animals.
Key facts
- Subject
- Vikram's now-deleted Instagram reel showing him cuddling a Lar Gibbon
- Animals involved
- Endangered Lar Gibbons; three acquired by an Erode-based breeder
- Gibbon deaths
- One of the three died without the Tamil Nadu Forest Department being informed
- Surviving gibbons
- A pair reportedly moved back to Erode amid the investigation
- Investigating authority
- Tamil Nadu Forest Department
- Transfer origin
- Manipur, with gibbons later reaching Erode and one landing with Vikram in Chennai
- Key questions
- Chain of possession and the legality of the transfer from Manipur to Erode to Chennai











