It’s the wrong stuff: prize-winning anteater photo ‘used taxidermy’
Museum disqualifies top entry in competition as photographer insists his image is genuine
A WINNING entry in a Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has been disqualified after experts decided the anteater in the picture was stuffed.
The Natural History Museum, which runs the contest, said it was “highly likely” that Marcio Cabral’s image featured a taxidermy specimen. The picture, The Night Raider, shows an anteater at a termite mound in Emas National Park in Brazil.
An anonymous whistleblower contacted the museum to say the animal bore an uncanny resemblance to a stuffed anteater that can be found at a visitor centre at the reserve.
Mr Cabral denies the allegation, insisting the picture was the result of hours of painstaking work, but he has been unable to supply any pictures of the anteater in a different pose.
The picture won the 2017 category Animals in their Environment.
The Natural History Museum asked five experts – two of its own staff, a taxidermy specialist, an independent South American mammals expert and an anteater researcher – for their opinions.
The museum subsequently announced: “Evidence was presented to the museum by third parties that it is highly likely the animal in the awarded photograph is a taxidermy specimen.
“After a thorough investigation, the museum concluded that the available evidence points to this allegation being true. As a result, the museum believes that the image breaches the competition rules, which state that ‘entries must not deceive the viewer or attempt to misrepresent the reality of nature’.
“Evidence examined included high resolution photographs of a taxidermy anteater that is kept on open display at a visitor centre at the Portão do Bandeira gate, one of the entrances of the Emas National Park – the large park where The Night Raider was taken.
“The five scientists, working independently of each other, all concluded there were elements of the animal’s posture, morphology, raised tufts of fur and patterns on the neck and head that were too similar for the images to show two different animals. The experts would have expected some variation between two individuals of the same species.
“The museum also considered the responses to questions put to the photographer, Marcio Cabral, who cooperated fully in the investigation, and who supplied RAW image files which were taken before and after the winning shot was taken, none of which included the anteater. Mr Cabral did provide an explanation as to why he had no other images of the anteater. He also provided a witness who claims he saw the live anteater. Mr Cabral strongly denies that the anteater in the image is a taxidermy specimen.”
Mr Cabral, a professional photographer based in Brasilia, said: “Unfortunately, I do not have another image of the animal because it is a long exposure of 30 seconds and ISO 5000 [a high sensitivity level]. After the flashes were fired, the animal left the place, so it was not possible to make another photo with the animal coming out of the place that is totally dark.”
He told the BBC: “Other photographers and tourists were in the park at the same time” and therefore “it would be very unlikely anyone wouldn’t see a stuffed animal being transported and placed carefully in this position”.
In his original citation, Mr Cabral said he was photographing bioluminescent beetles on the termite mount when the anteater wandered into shot.
‘The experts would have expected some variation between two individuals of the same species’