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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a small clearing far in the of Peru jungle when he heard footsteps drawing near through the lush forest.

He realized that he had been encircled, and froze.

“One person was standing, aiming with an projectile,” he states. “And somehow he became aware I was here and I started to escape.”

He had come encountering the Mashco Piro tribe. For a long time, Tomas—who lives in the small settlement of Nueva Oceania—had been almost a local to these wandering people, who shun interaction with outsiders.

An updated report by a rights organisation claims there are at least 196 termed “isolated tribes” remaining in the world. The group is considered to be the most numerous. The study claims 50% of these tribes might be decimated within ten years unless authorities neglect to implement further measures to safeguard them.

The report asserts the most significant threats are from logging, digging or exploration for oil. Uncontacted groups are exceptionally susceptible to common sickness—therefore, the study notes a risk is posed by contact with proselytizers and social media influencers in pursuit of attention.

In recent times, the Mashco Piro have been appearing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from inhabitants.

Nueva Oceania is a angling hamlet of seven or eight clans, sitting elevated on the shores of the Tauhamanu River in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, a ten-hour journey from the closest settlement by watercraft.

The territory is not classified as a protected reserve for remote communities, and timber firms work here.

Tomas says that, on occasion, the noise of logging machinery can be noticed around the clock, and the Mashco Piro people are observing their woodland disrupted and destroyed.

In Nueva Oceania, residents say they are conflicted. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold deep admiration for their “kin” who live in the jungle and want to protect them.

“Permit them to live as they live, we are unable to alter their way of life. For this reason we maintain our space,” says Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the destruction to the tribe's survival, the threat of aggression and the likelihood that deforestation crews might introduce the Mashco Piro to illnesses they have no resistance to.

During a visit in the settlement, the group made their presence felt again. Letitia, a resident with a young child, was in the woodland gathering produce when she noticed them.

“We detected calls, sounds from people, a large number of them. As though there was a large gathering shouting,” she told us.

This marked the first instance she had come across the tribe and she ran. After sixty minutes, her head was continually throbbing from terror.

“As exist timber workers and firms destroying the woodland they are escaping, perhaps out of fear and they come close to us,” she stated. “We don't know how they might react towards us. That's what scares me.”

In 2022, a pair of timber workers were assaulted by the group while catching fish. One was struck by an bow to the abdomen. He recovered, but the second individual was found lifeless after several days with several arrow wounds in his physique.

The Peruvian government has a approach of no engagement with remote tribes, making it illegal to start contact with them.

The policy began in Brazil following many years of lobbying by tribal advocacy organizations, who noted that first contact with remote tribes lead to whole populations being decimated by disease, poverty and starvation.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau people in the country made initial contact with the outside world, a significant portion of their population died within a short period. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe faced the identical outcome.

“Remote tribes are highly vulnerable—epidemiologically, any interaction could transmit illnesses, and including the basic infections may decimate them,” states an advocate from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any contact or intrusion could be extremely detrimental to their way of life and survival as a group.”

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