Your anteater is stuffed! Cheating photographer is stripped of award
AN AWARD-winning image of an anteater was disqualified by judges of a prestigious nature photography contest – because the animal was probably stuffed.
Suspicions were raised after eagle-eyed observers noticed the animal was notably similar to a taxidermy anteater, even down to the tufts of fur on its tail, at a wildlife park visitor centre.
Wildlife photography experts concluded the patterns on the neck of both anteaters and the whorls of hair on the head were just too similar to occur simply by chance.
Now the image of the animal appearing to devour termites at night, which won a prize in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, has been disqualified.
It was taken in Brazil’s Emas National Park and won the Animals In Their Environment category of the competition in 2017.
The image, titled The Night Raider, was stripped of the award after experts concluded it was likely the animal had been stuffed many years ago.
The Natural History Museum, which runs the international competition, said it was contacted in March by anonymous sources who questioned the authenticity of the image.
An investigation examined high resolution images of a taxidermy anteater kept on display at a visitor centre at Portao do Bandeira, which is one of the entrances to the park, and compared it to the one in the winning image.
Five mammal and taxidermy experts, working independently of each other, all concluded there were elements of the animal’s posture and features, raised tufts of fur and patterns on the neck and head were too similar.
The museum said it also considered the responses to questions put to the photographer Marcio Cabral, who they said has co-operated fully with the investigation.
Mr Cabral supplied image files taken before and after the winning shot, none of which included the anteater.
He strongly denies the anteater in the image is a taxidermy specimen, the museum added.
Mr Cabral claimed, “it would be very unlikely anyone wouldn’t see a stuffed animal being transported and placed carefully in this position”.
He said he did not have another image of the animal because “after the flashes were fired, the animal left the place” and it was not possible to take another photo.
However London’s Natural History Museum ruled the image breaks the rules of the competition, which require entrants not to deceive the viewer or attempt to disguise and/or misrepresent the reality of nature.
Roz Kidman Cox, a member of the 2017 judging panel and current chairwoman of the jury, said: “I find it disheartening and surprising that a photographer would go to such lengths to deceive the competition and its worldwide following. “The competition places great store on honesty and integrity, which is at the heart of the competition.
“This disqualification should remind entrants that any transgression of the rules and spirit of the competition will eventually be found out.”