There are two propositions here:<p>One, that some UFO sightings are due to the activities of extraterrestrial intelligences. This seems very unlikely at this point.<p>Second, that the Fermi Paradox exists at least partly due to aliens avoiding us specifically, what is commonly referred to as the &quot;zoo hypothesis&quot;. As far as speculative explanations go, it&#x27;s not an unreasonable contender. However, it is not among the most likely or the most simple hypotheses out there.<p>The zoo hypothesis pre-supposes the ready availability of FTL technology, which itself implies that such technology is even possible in general. It also hinges on a specific combination of psychological factors and random happenstance, namely the desire to isolate an entire star system (which is not a trivial feat), and the fact that they even discovered our existence in the first place (which is also quite the coincidence, even for a culture that can travel faster than the speed of light).<p>These reasons don&#x27;t rule out the zoo hypothesis. However, if I were to bet on one scenario, it would be the practical consequences of the fact that expected distances between civilizations are enormous in both time and space, plus the weakly-shining light cone of our technologically advanced existence doesn&#x27;t reach very far and isn&#x27;t easy to detect - and those same factors would be preventing us from seeing an advanced civilization as well, even if they happened to be relatively close by.