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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a small open space far in the Peruvian jungle when he noticed footsteps coming closer through the lush woodland.

It dawned on him he was encircled, and halted.

“One positioned, aiming using an arrow,” he recalls. “And somehow he became aware that I was present and I started to escape.”

He had come encountering the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—dwelling in the modest village of Nueva Oceania—served as virtually a local to these itinerant tribe, who shun contact with strangers.

An updated study issued by a advocacy organisation claims remain at least 196 described as “isolated tribes” left in the world. The Mashco Piro is thought to be the most numerous. The report says half of these tribes may be eliminated within ten years if governments don't do further measures to safeguard them.

It argues the most significant dangers come from timber harvesting, extraction or exploration for petroleum. Isolated tribes are highly susceptible to common sickness—consequently, the report states a danger is caused by interaction with proselytizers and social media influencers seeking clicks.

Lately, Mashco Piro people have been appearing to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, based on accounts from inhabitants.

Nueva Oceania is a fishing community of a handful of families, located high on the edges of the Tauhamanu River in the center of the Peruvian Amazon, 10 hours from the most accessible town by canoe.

This region is not classified as a protected reserve for uncontacted groups, and logging companies operate here.

Tomas reports that, sometimes, the racket of industrial tools can be noticed day and night, and the Mashco Piro people are observing their woodland damaged and devastated.

Within the village, residents say they are torn. They dread the tribal weapons but they hold deep regard for their “relatives” who live in the woodland and desire to safeguard them.

“Allow them to live according to their traditions, we can't alter their traditions. That's why we preserve our space,” explains Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the damage to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the risk of violence and the chance that loggers might subject the Mashco Piro to diseases they have no immunity to.

While we were in the settlement, the tribe appeared again. A young mother, a resident with a young girl, was in the forest gathering produce when she heard them.

“We heard cries, cries from people, a large number of them. As if there was a whole group calling out,” she told us.

It was the first instance she had met the tribe and she fled. Subsequently, her head was continually racing from fear.

“Since there are deforestation crews and companies cutting down the woodland they are fleeing, perhaps due to terror and they come near us,” she stated. “We are uncertain how they might react towards us. This is what scares me.”

Recently, two individuals were assaulted by the group while catching fish. A single person was wounded by an bow to the gut. He survived, but the second individual was discovered lifeless days later with nine injuries in his physique.

The administration has a approach of avoiding interaction with isolated people, rendering it forbidden to initiate encounters with them.

This approach originated in Brazil following many years of lobbying by tribal advocacy organizations, who observed that initial contact with secluded communities lead to whole populations being wiped out by illness, destitution and malnutrition.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in the country came into contact with the world outside, 50% of their community perished within a few years. A decade later, the Muruhanua community experienced the identical outcome.

“Remote tribes are extremely susceptible—epidemiologically, any contact may transmit illnesses, and even the most common illnesses might wipe them out,” states Issrail Aquisse from a tribal support group. “From a societal perspective, any interaction or interference could be extremely detrimental to their life and survival as a group.”

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