AN award-winning image of an anteater moving towards a termite mound at night has been disqualified from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The photograph, taken in Brazil’s Emas National Park, won the Animals in their Environment category in 2017, but has been stripped of the award.
The Natural History Museum, which runs the international competition, said it had been tipped off by anonymous sources.
An investigation examined images of a taxidermy anteater kept on display at a visitor centre at the Portao do Bandeira gate. Five mammal and taxidermy experts all concluded there are elements of the animal’s posture and features that are too similar for the images to show two different animals.
The 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.
Photographer Marcio Cabral co-operated fully, and denies the shot shows a taxidermy specimen.
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