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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a tiny glade deep in the of Peru rainforest when he noticed footsteps approaching through the lush woodland.

He realized he was surrounded, and froze.

“One person positioned, pointing with an arrow,” he states. “And somehow he noticed I was here and I started to flee.”

He ended up confronting the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—residing in the tiny village of Nueva Oceania—was practically a neighbor to these wandering individuals, who reject contact with foreigners.

A new study by a rights group states there are at least 196 of what it calls “isolated tribes” in existence worldwide. The Mashco Piro is thought to be the largest. The report says 50% of these tribes may be decimated within ten years if governments don't do further measures to safeguard them.

It claims the biggest risks come from logging, mining or operations for oil. Isolated tribes are extremely at risk to common illness—therefore, the study notes a threat is presented by interaction with proselytizers and digital content creators in pursuit of clicks.

Recently, Mashco Piro people have been venturing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's community of several clans, located high on the banks of the local river in the heart of the of Peru jungle, a ten-hour journey from the nearest settlement by watercraft.

The territory is not classified as a preserved area for uncontacted groups, and timber firms work here.

According to Tomas that, at times, the racket of logging machinery can be noticed around the clock, and the Mashco Piro people are observing their woodland disturbed and devastated.

Among the locals, residents state they are torn. They fear the tribal weapons but they also possess profound regard for their “kin” dwelling in the forest and want to defend them.

“Permit them to live according to their traditions, we must not modify their way of life. This is why we keep our space,” states Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are worried about the destruction to the tribe's survival, the threat of aggression and the possibility that loggers might expose the tribe to sicknesses they have no defense to.

While we were in the village, the tribe appeared again. Letitia, a woman with a toddler daughter, was in the forest picking produce when she heard them.

“We detected cries, cries from people, a large number of them. Like it was a whole group calling out,” she shared with us.

This marked the initial occasion she had encountered the tribe and she escaped. After sixty minutes, her head was persistently pounding from anxiety.

“Because operate loggers and companies destroying the woodland they are escaping, maybe due to terror and they arrive close to us,” she said. “It is unclear how they will behave towards us. That's what scares me.”

In 2022, two loggers were confronted by the Mashco Piro while catching fish. A single person was wounded by an arrow to the abdomen. He lived, but the second individual was located lifeless subsequently with nine arrow wounds in his physique.

Authorities in Peru has a policy of non-contact with isolated people, establishing it as prohibited to initiate contact with them.

This approach was first adopted in the neighboring country after decades of advocacy by community representatives, who noted that initial interaction with secluded communities lead to whole populations being wiped out by sickness, destitution and malnutrition.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau community in Peru made initial contact with the outside world, a significant portion of their people died within a few years. A decade later, the Muruhanua tribe suffered the identical outcome.

“Remote tribes are extremely susceptible—epidemiologically, any contact may introduce diseases, and even the basic infections could wipe them out,” says a representative from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any contact or disruption can be very harmful to their way of life and health as a group.”

For local residents of {