Anteater in prize-winning wildlife photo is stuffed, say judges

Natural History Museum takes down picture, but Marcio Cabral is adamant he did not fake it

The dramatic photograph of an anteater approaching a glowing termite mound in the dead of night was originally considered a worthy winner of a Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. The prize has now been withdrawn after judges noticed a problem: the anteater pictured is almost certainly a stuffed animal kept outside a visitor centre.

The Natural History Museum, which administers the awards, has disqualified the Brazilian wildlife photographer Marcio Cabral for attempting to deceive judges by submitting a picture of a taxidermy specimen in the "animals in their environment" category.