  We report a study in which Point contact Andreev reflection (PCAR)
spectroscopy using superconducting Nb tip has been carried out on NdNi5, a
ferromagnet with a Curie temperature of TC~7.7K. The measurements were carried
out over a temperature range of 2-9K which spans across the ferromagnetic
transition temperature. From an analysis of the spectra, we show that (i) the
temperature dependence of the extracted value of transport spin polarization
closely follows the temperature dependence of the spontaneous magnetization;
(ii) the superconducting quasiparticle lifetime shows a large decrease close to
the Curie temperature of the ferromagnet. We attribute the latter to the
presence of strong ferromagnetic spin fluctuations in the ferromagnet close to
the ferromagnetic transition temperature.
