photo by cowbite

With sales of paper Chinese lanterns (or sky lanterns) soaring over the last two years in the UK, the National Farmers Union have expressed grave concern over the risk the lanterns pose to livestock. The simple lanterns, constructed of paper, wire and a candle, are often launched to mark special occasions and can fly many miles from where they are launched. This poses a risk to grazing animals that inadvertently ingest pieces of wire from lanterns that land in their fields. The House of Lords have taken up the cause and are moving to join several other nations, including Malta, Germany and Australia, that have already banned sky lanterns.

Since Chinese lanterns can fly very high, can move around erratically, and are silent, they are often confused for UFOs. The potential ban would eliminate these false sightings, a major boon for ufologists working in the UK. With the sheer number of UFO sightings reported every year (well over 4,000 sightings were reported to the National UFO Reporting Center in the US last year), any reduction in the possible number of sightings is a welcome relief to any serious researcher investigating the UFO phenomenon.

Call To Ban Chinese Lanterns To Protect Cows [via Real UFOs]

Reports are coming in of a strange incident along a highway outside Barstow, California this weekend. According to witnesses, a strange craft that was flying very low over the highway landed or crashed Saturday (12/12/2009). Following the landing/crash police, black government vehicles and a large military transport were reported racing to the scene. Upon arriving at the scene, the police and other agencies parked their vehicles facing outward, with their headlights on, so as to obstruct any view of the scene. While a photo of the scene was apparently take, as of now it has still not been posted online. Additional reports found by Phantoms & Monsters indicate that a craft was seen by truckers in the area flying low over the highway.

Adding to the mystery are the following videos from YouTube, supposedly shot in Tracy and Ridgecrest, California this weekend. Both videos are posted to established accounts with no other UFO related videos, which leads me to believe that they are genuine footage of some sort of unknown craft.

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Cryptomundo is reporting that last month’s Cryptid of the Month, the Chupacabra, has apparently made an appearance in the municipality of Champotón in the Mexican state of Campeche on the Yucatan Peninsula. The creature is alleged to have attacked and killed eight hens and one turkey leaving one rooster as the sole survivor of the incident. The animals were found completely drained of blood. Aurelio Tamay, the animals owner, said that he heard a commotion coming from his patio last Sunday (3/30/2008). When he went to investigate, he claims to have seen an animal “of strange form” leaving the area. Stranger still, he reports that there were no tracks or other markings around the dead animals. Locals believe that a Chupacabra is responsible for the attack because of similarities to previous killings throughout the country attributed to the creature.

The incident has local residents on edge, fearful of more attacks. They have taken extra precautions to protect their animals, moving them inside their homes in the hopes of preventing another slaughter. Additionally, search parties have been sent into the countryside in an attempt to locate the mysterious attacker and residents are patrolling the streets at night with machetes to kill the creature before any more animals are lost.

Breaking: Campeche Chupacabras @ Cryptomundo
Cryptid of the Month: The Chupacabra @ Meets The Weird