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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a small clearing far in the of Peru jungle when he heard footsteps drawing near through the dense forest.

He became aware that he had been encircled, and froze.

“One person positioned, directing using an arrow,” he recalls. “And somehow he became aware that I was present and I commenced to run.”

He found himself confronting the Mashco Piro tribe. For decades, Tomas—residing in the small settlement of Nueva Oceania—served as practically a local to these nomadic tribe, who reject engagement with outsiders.

An updated report by a rights organization states exist at least 196 termed “uncontacted groups” left globally. The group is considered to be the largest. It says a significant portion of these groups might be wiped out over the coming ten years unless authorities neglect to implement further measures to safeguard them.

The report asserts the biggest threats stem from deforestation, mining or operations for oil. Remote communities are highly susceptible to common disease—consequently, the report notes a risk is posed by contact with religious missionaries and online personalities seeking engagement.

Recently, members of the tribe have been coming to Nueva Oceania increasingly, as reported by residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's village of seven or eight clans, located atop on the shores of the local river deep within the of Peru rainforest, a ten-hour journey from the most accessible settlement by canoe.

The area is not designated as a preserved zone for isolated tribes, and deforestation operations work here.

Tomas says that, sometimes, the sound of heavy equipment can be heard continuously, and the tribe members are observing their jungle disturbed and devastated.

Among the locals, people say they are torn. They fear the tribal weapons but they also have profound admiration for their “kin” who live in the jungle and desire to protect them.

“Permit them to live as they live, we are unable to alter their way of life. This is why we maintain our distance,” states Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are worried about the harm to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of conflict and the possibility that timber workers might introduce the tribe to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

At the time in the village, the tribe made themselves known again. A young mother, a woman with a two-year-old girl, was in the jungle collecting fruit when she heard them.

“We detected shouting, shouts from individuals, numerous of them. Like there was a whole group shouting,” she told us.

This marked the initial occasion she had come across the Mashco Piro and she ran. An hour later, her thoughts was continually pounding from fear.

“Since there are deforestation crews and companies cutting down the woodland they are fleeing, perhaps due to terror and they end up close to us,” she explained. “We are uncertain how they might react with us. That's what frightens me.”

In 2022, a pair of timber workers were attacked by the Mashco Piro while angling. One man was wounded by an bow to the gut. He survived, but the other man was found deceased after several days with nine puncture marks in his physique.

Authorities in Peru has a strategy of no engagement with isolated people, making it illegal to initiate contact with them.

The strategy originated in Brazil after decades of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who observed that early contact with secluded communities lead to whole populations being wiped out by sickness, destitution and starvation.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in the country made initial contact with the outside world, a significant portion of their population succumbed within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua community suffered the identical outcome.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are extremely susceptible—epidemiologically, any contact might spread sicknesses, and even the most common illnesses could eliminate them,” states Issrail Aquisse from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any exposure or interference could be highly damaging to their existence and well-being as a society.”

For local residents of {