Indian actor's video with endangered gibbon sparks investigation

Records cited by the official show that on 5 June this year, one male and two female lar gibbons were transferred from Manipur to a person in Perundurai in Tamil Nadu's Erode district. The stated purpose was adoption.But investigators have not yet found documentation showing that permission from Tamil Nadu's Chief Wildlife Warden had been obtained for the animals to be brought into the state, the official said.Two months later, on 5 August, one male and one female gibbon were transferred from Perundurai to Vikram's relative in Chennai, according to the Forest Department's investigation.Investigators are now trying to establish the precise origins of the gibbons and whether the necessary documentation was in place at each stage of their journey.Wildlife activists have also raised questions about how the animals originally entered India. Manipur borders Myanmar, and India's north-east has been flagged as a route for the illegal trade in exotic wildlife, although authorities have not concluded that the gibbons in this case were trafficked.The Tamil Nadu Forest Department says it is examining their documentation, including whether rules governing the international movement and possessi...