Chiyaan Vikram recently shared a video featuring him with a Lar Gibbon, which sparked concerns over the legality of keeping the animal and prompted a Forest Department probe. During the inquiry, officials found that one of the three gibbons had died. The surviving pair were found at a breeder’s farm in Erode.

Vikram’s gibbon controversy deepens

As per a report by The New Indian Express, Erode District Forest Officer Venkata Appala Naidu said a Forest Department team visited a breeder’s farm in Erode on Tuesday and found two Lar Gibbons. The team was informed that a female gibbon had died, though the breeder had not reported the death to the department. The animal’s age and cause of death remain unknown. Under the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, the death of a registered animal must be reported to the authorities along with a post-mortem report issued by a veterinary practitioner. Documents reportedly show that three Lar Gibbons, comprising one male and two females, were transferred from Manipur to Erode-based S K Keshavanathan in the first week of June.