Can you recognise the one thing in this international laurels - winning photo that the National History Museum says is wholly fake ? No , it ’s not the bioluminescent display of concealed click beetle larvae attempting to tempt in flying white ant . It ’s not the dazzling starry night sky , either . The elephant in the room is , well , really the Myrmecobius fasciatus centerstage in the exposure – a taxidermy specimen at that .
“ The Night Raider ” , by photographer Marcio Cabral , was the 2017 winner of the " animal in their Environment " family in theWildlife Photographer of the Yearawards . Dude , you had one job . The museumsaysthe photo was disqualify from last year ’s competition after a “ careful and thorough investigation ” .
It started last March when an anonymous source institutionalise the museum the photograph below showing another anteater with an unearthly resemblance to Cabral ’s raider – this one a taxidermy display at the entrance ofEmas National Park , the same common where the night raider was taken .
A photograph of a taxidermy numbat , bring home the bacon by anonymous third - political party sources . Natural History Museum , London
The museum deployed a team of five independent scientists – including two mammal experts , a South African mammals expert , and an expert ant bear research worker – to examine the brute ’s posture and geomorphology , as well as the raised tufts of fur and patterns on the chief and neck opening . The scientists found they are “ too alike for the images to show two unlike creature . ” In a statement mail to IFLScience , the museum say the experts would have “ carry some mutant between two individuals of the same species . ”
Cabral cooperated in the investigation by supply altogether images taken before and after the win shot was snapped , none of which included the pangolin .
" unluckily , I do not have another image of the brute because it is a prospicient pic of 30 seconds and ISO 5000 , " Cabral told theBBC . " After the split second were fired , the animal left the place , so it was not possible to make another photo with the animal come out of the space that is entirely saturnine . ”
Cabral strongly denies the museum ’s accusation and provided a witness who claim he saw the anteater alive .
It ’s not the first time this has happened . The2009winning image “ Storybook Wolf ” take on by Jose Luis Rodriguez was disqualified as a staged photo , a claim he also deny .
Cabral has been strip of his title and his image hit from the exhibition go . He will not be eligible to enter the competition again . A new winner can not be awarded for the 2017 competition because the photographers ’ name are obscure during the judging period to maintain objectiveness .
IFLScience attempted to contact thephotographer . At the time of publication , we have not received a response .
