WILDLIFE OFFICIALS DISCOVER A MYSTERIOUS OBJECT IN UTAH DESERT

Government workers from the state wildlife resources department had a close encounter with an unfamiliar object in the Utah desert.

The crew was aboard a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter in a remote area to count bighorn sheep when they spotted a mysterious monolith sticking out of the dirt.

The object was reported to be between 10 to 12 feet tall and didn't look like it was dropped from a high distance, the shiny metal object was planted upwards into the ground. The object, which is unlabelled, is located inside a red rock cove, however, officials have withheld the details of the exact location, fearful that people could endanger themselves by trying to get a closer look of the mysterious object.

Officials on the scene did, however, first suggest that the object could be have been constructed by an artist or a huge fan of 2001: Space Odyssey, seeing that the mysterious object resembles the machines found in Arthur C. Clarke's story.

Pilot, Bret Hutchings, stated that; "One of the biologists is the one who spotted it and we just happened to fly directly over the top of it. He was like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around!' And I was like, 'what.' And he's like, 'There's this thing back there – we've got to go look at it!" Shortly after, the helicopter circled back around the area and landed so that the crew could go and further investigate the structure.

"We were thinking, Is this something NASA stuck up there or something? Are they bouncing satellites off it? We were kind of joking around that if one of us suddenly disappears, then the rest of us make a run for it."

"I'm assuming it's some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big [2001: A Space Odyssey] fan,” Hutchings added.

Utah is however known for its historical land art and unusual installations that started appearing in the 1960s and '70s. One of the most famous structures is known as the Spiral Jetty. The 1,500-foot-long coil that was composed entirely of mud, salt crystals and basalt was created by artist, Robert Smithson, in 1970. The jetty is located on the North Eastern edge of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point, and reveals itself depending on water levels.

However, no one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the monolith as yet. "That's been about the strangest thing that I've come across out there in all my years of flying," Hutchings confessed.

Officials gathered images and videos of the strange object but has not removed it from its original position. 

Watch the video here for more on this strange monolith in the middle of nowhere.