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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a modest glade within in the Peruvian rainforest when he heard sounds drawing near through the thick jungle.

He realized he was hemmed in, and halted.

“A single individual stood, pointing with an arrow,” he recalls. “And somehow he became aware that I was present and I started to escape.”

He had come encountering the Mashco Piro tribe. For decades, Tomas—who lives in the modest settlement of Nueva Oceania—served as virtually a local to these wandering tribe, who reject engagement with strangers.

An updated document by a rights organization claims exist at least 196 of what it calls “isolated tribes” left in the world. This tribe is believed to be the biggest. The report states half of these tribes might be decimated in the next decade unless authorities neglect to implement further measures to safeguard them.

The report asserts the most significant risks come from logging, mining or drilling for crude. Remote communities are extremely vulnerable to basic sickness—therefore, it states a risk is presented by exposure with religious missionaries and social media influencers seeking clicks.

In recent times, members of the tribe have been venturing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from residents.

Nueva Oceania is a angling hamlet of several families, perched high on the edges of the Tauhamanu River deep within the Peruvian jungle, a ten-hour journey from the nearest village by boat.

The territory is not classified as a safeguarded area for uncontacted groups, and logging companies work here.

According to Tomas that, sometimes, the racket of heavy equipment can be heard around the clock, and the Mashco Piro people are witnessing their jungle disturbed and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, residents report they are conflicted. They dread the tribal weapons but they also possess deep respect for their “kin” dwelling in the forest and want to protect them.

“Allow them to live according to their traditions, we are unable to modify their culture. That's why we preserve our separation,” says Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are worried about the damage to the tribe's survival, the danger of violence and the likelihood that loggers might expose the community to diseases they have no resistance to.

During a visit in the settlement, the tribe appeared again. Letitia, a woman with a toddler daughter, was in the forest picking fruit when she detected them.

“We heard shouting, sounds from people, a large number of them. As if it was a large gathering shouting,” she shared with us.

This marked the first time she had met the group and she escaped. After sixty minutes, her mind was continually pounding from fear.

“Since exist loggers and companies clearing the woodland they are fleeing, perhaps due to terror and they come near us,” she stated. “We are uncertain how they will behave towards us. This is what terrifies me.”

Two years ago, two loggers were confronted by the group while fishing. A single person was wounded by an arrow to the abdomen. He lived, but the other man was discovered deceased subsequently with multiple injuries in his body.

The administration has a policy of non-contact with isolated people, establishing it as prohibited to initiate encounters with them.

The strategy began in a nearby nation after decades of advocacy by community representatives, who noted that initial contact with isolated people could lead to entire communities being wiped out by illness, poverty and hunger.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in the country came into contact with the broader society, a significant portion of their people succumbed within a matter of years. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe experienced the same fate.

“Secluded communities are highly susceptible—in terms of health, any exposure may introduce sicknesses, and even the most common illnesses might decimate them,” explains Issrail Aquisse from a tribal support group. “In cultural terms, any exposure or interference may be highly damaging to their life and survival as a society.”

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