Actor Vikram flaunts lar gibbon; conservationists raise red flag

CHENNAI: Actor Vikram found himself in the middle of an uproar, within moments after uploading a reel of him playing with a lar gibbon (Hylobates lar), which is a threatened species protected under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). The reel, which went viral, shocked conservationists as they disapproved of the exotic primate being kept as a pet in Chennai. When contacted, deputy director of wildlife crime control bureau (southern region) V Thenmozhi said whenever issues of this kind arise, they seek the help of state wildlife authorities to check the pet owner for valid documents to ascertain from where the exotic pet was sourced. Chennai wildlife warden Kulal Yogesh Vilas said the lar gibbon is protected under Appendix I of CITES. It is categorized as Schedule IV animal under the amended Wildlife Protection Act it. A forest ranger would be sent to verify the origin of the species, from whom it was procured, and whether the pet owner had documents showing the purchase details, he said. The lar gibbon is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Natural Flora and Fauna (IUCN) and included on their red list of threatened species. In the wild, baby lar gibbons are captured by killing their mothers and for getting one specimen, sometimes an entire family of gibbons is poached. Lar gibbons are arboreal and they require large tree canopies for free movement. Confining such animals in enclosures/cages will affect their behaviour pattern. Vikram’s reel showed a well-grown adult animal, which could not have been procured recently. Many pet traders across the country have been illegally breeding and selling this species of primate for some time.