TAMPON (LE) (974) 16.05.2023

On Tuesday 16 May 2023, a witness was walking at the Notre-Dame de la Paix viewpoint on the CD36, La Plaine des Cafres, in Le Tampon on Réunion. Afterwards, he noticed a dark patch resembling an unidentified aerospace phenomenon in 1 smartphone photograph taken on the walk. GEIPAN’s investigation found that he had probably photographed an animal such as an insect, bird or butterfly. It considers a butterfly endemic to Réunion, Neptis dumetorum, moving rapidly close to the lens highly probable. The species is described as about 2 cm long and closely similar in shape and colour to the photographed phenomenon; the source refers to the investigation report. The case is classified A: very probably a butterfly.