It appears that fewer aliens took vacations last year, as Canadians reported nearly 1,200 UFO sightings in 2013-- well below the record-breaking total of the previous year, according to a new report.

In its annual report, released Tuesday, a Winnipeg group called Ufology Research said there were about three reported sightings of unidentified flying objects each day across the country last year, for a total of 1,180.

More than 40 per cent of the sightings were in Ontario, with the typical sighting lasting about 13 minutes, the report said. British Columbia was second with 25 per cent of the total recorded sightings.

In more than half of the recorded UFO sightings, witnesses reported “simple lights in the sky,” while others reported spheres and boomerangs.

“Results of this study show that many people continue to report unusual objects in the sky, and some of these objects do not have obvious explanations,” the report said. “Many witnesses are pilots, police and other individuals with reasonably good observing capabilities and good judgment.”

The group has been releasing annual reports on recorded UFO sightings in Canada for 25 years.

While the 2013 total is the second-highest ever recorded, it was well-short of the nearly 2,000 sightings on the books from 2012. That year, the 1,981 UFO reported sightings shattered the previous record of 1,004, which was set in 2008.

While it’s fun to speculate what made aliensseemingly stay home last year (rising fuel prices hitting the spaceship sector hard? the Polar Vortex making intergalactic space travel difficult?), the group suspects the big 2012 was “an anomaly and likely due to many people excited about the so-called ‘end of the world’ in 2012, according to the Mayan Calendar.”

The report notes, however, that despite last year’s drop-off, the number of reported sightings remains high.

Several theories for this can be suggested, the report notes, including:

  • That more UFOs are present and physically observable by witnesses;
  • More secret or classified military exercises and overflights are occurring over populated areas;
  • More people are unaware of the nature of conventional or natural objects in the sky;
  • More people are taking the time to observe their surroundings;
  • More people are able to report their sightings with easier access to the Internet and portable technology;
  • The downturn in the economy is leading to an increased desire by some people to look skyward for assistance.