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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a small clearing deep in the of Peru jungle when he noticed movements coming closer through the thick jungle.

He became aware that he had been hemmed in, and halted.

“One was standing, directing with an projectile,” he remembers. “And somehow he detected of my presence and I started to flee.”

He ended up encountering the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny settlement of Nueva Oceania—had been virtually a local to these itinerant tribe, who shun engagement with foreigners.

A recent document from a advocacy group indicates remain at least 196 termed “remote communities” remaining in the world. The group is considered to be the largest. The report claims 50% of these tribes might be eliminated over the coming ten years unless authorities fail to take more to protect them.

It argues the greatest risks come from deforestation, extraction or drilling for crude. Uncontacted groups are extremely susceptible to common illness—therefore, it says a threat is posed by contact with evangelical missionaries and social media influencers seeking attention.

In recent times, members of the tribe have been coming to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, based on accounts from residents.

The village is a fishermen's community of several families, perched atop on the edges of the Tauhamanu River in the center of the of Peru Amazon, 10 hours from the closest village by watercraft.

This region is not recognised as a protected zone for remote communities, and timber firms operate here.

Tomas reports that, at times, the racket of heavy equipment can be heard day and night, and the Mashco Piro people are witnessing their woodland disturbed and devastated.

Within the village, inhabitants report they are conflicted. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they also have strong regard for their “relatives” who live in the forest and wish to protect them.

“Let them live according to their traditions, we can't change their culture. That's why we keep our separation,” explains Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the harm to the community's way of life, the threat of aggression and the possibility that timber workers might introduce the community to sicknesses they have no immunity to.

At the time in the village, the Mashco Piro appeared again. Letitia, a woman with a toddler daughter, was in the forest collecting food when she detected them.

“We detected calls, shouts from others, many of them. As if it was a whole group calling out,” she shared with us.

That was the first instance she had come across the tribe and she ran. Subsequently, her thoughts was continually pounding from fear.

“As exist timber workers and companies destroying the woodland they are escaping, possibly out of fear and they end up in proximity to us,” she said. “We are uncertain how they might react to us. That is the thing that frightens me.”

Two years ago, two individuals were attacked by the Mashco Piro while angling. One man was struck by an bow to the gut. He lived, but the second individual was discovered lifeless subsequently with multiple injuries in his body.

The administration follows a policy of avoiding interaction with isolated people, rendering it prohibited to start contact with them.

The policy originated in the neighboring country following many years of lobbying by indigenous rights groups, who observed that early exposure with secluded communities could lead to entire communities being wiped out by illness, hardship and starvation.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau people in Peru came into contact with the world outside, half of their people succumbed within a few years. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua people experienced the same fate.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are highly susceptible—from a disease perspective, any interaction might spread sicknesses, and even the most common illnesses could decimate them,” says a representative from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any interaction or intrusion may be extremely detrimental to their life and well-being as a society.”

For those living nearby of {