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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a tiny clearing within in the Peruvian rainforest when he heard sounds drawing near through the thick forest.

It dawned on him he was hemmed in, and froze.

“One was standing, aiming using an bow and arrow,” he remembers. “Unexpectedly he detected of my presence and I started to flee.”

He ended up face to face the Mashco Piro tribe. For decades, Tomas—residing in the small community of Nueva Oceania—was virtually a local to these nomadic individuals, who shun engagement with strangers.

A recent study issued by a rights group claims there are a minimum of 196 described as “uncontacted groups” in existence in the world. The Mashco Piro is considered to be the biggest. The report states 50% of these groups could be eliminated in the next decade unless authorities neglect to implement further measures to safeguard them.

The report asserts the biggest risks come from logging, extraction or drilling for petroleum. Uncontacted groups are exceptionally susceptible to ordinary disease—therefore, the report says a risk is caused by contact with evangelical missionaries and digital content creators seeking clicks.

In recent times, the Mashco Piro have been venturing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, as reported by inhabitants.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's village of a handful of clans, sitting high on the shores of the local river deep within the Peruvian jungle, a ten-hour journey from the closest village by watercraft.

The territory is not recognised as a safeguarded area for remote communities, and timber firms work here.

Tomas reports that, sometimes, the noise of logging machinery can be noticed continuously, and the community are observing their jungle disturbed and ruined.

Within the village, inhabitants report they are conflicted. They fear the tribal weapons but they also have strong respect for their “kin” residing in the jungle and want to safeguard them.

“Permit them to live in their own way, we must not change their culture. For this reason we preserve our distance,” explains Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are worried about the damage to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the risk of violence and the likelihood that deforestation crews might expose the Mashco Piro to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

While we were in the village, the Mashco Piro made themselves known again. A young mother, a young mother with a toddler girl, was in the woodland gathering produce when she detected them.

“We detected calls, sounds from individuals, numerous of them. As though there were a whole group shouting,” she shared with us.

It was the first time she had encountered the group and she fled. Subsequently, her mind was persistently racing from anxiety.

“Since exist timber workers and companies destroying the jungle they are fleeing, possibly out of fear and they arrive in proximity to us,” she explained. “We are uncertain what their response may be towards us. That's what terrifies me.”

Two years ago, a pair of timber workers were assaulted by the tribe while angling. One man was hit by an projectile to the gut. He lived, but the other man was discovered lifeless after several days with several arrow wounds in his frame.

The Peruvian government maintains a approach of no engagement with remote tribes, rendering it forbidden to start interactions with them.

The policy was first adopted in the neighboring country following many years of campaigning by community representatives, who observed that initial contact with remote tribes lead to whole populations being decimated by disease, hardship and hunger.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau tribe in the country made initial contact with the broader society, half of their people died within a short period. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua community suffered the similar destiny.

“Remote tribes are highly at risk—epidemiologically, any exposure might introduce illnesses, and even the most common illnesses could decimate them,” states Issrail Aquisse from a tribal support group. “In cultural terms, any interaction or interference may be extremely detrimental to their existence and well-being as a group.”

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