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Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a small clearing within in the Peruvian jungle when he heard sounds coming closer through the dense woodland.

It dawned on him that he had been hemmed in, and stood still.

“One person was standing, directing using an bow and arrow,” he states. “And somehow he became aware of my presence and I commenced to run.”

He found himself confronting the Mashco Piro tribe. For a long time, Tomas—residing in the small village of Nueva Oceania—was almost a local to these wandering individuals, who avoid engagement with strangers.

A new document issued by a rights group states remain no fewer than 196 termed “isolated tribes” left worldwide. This tribe is believed to be the largest. It claims a significant portion of these tribes could be decimated within ten years unless authorities neglect to implement additional to protect them.

The report asserts the greatest dangers are from logging, extraction or drilling for petroleum. Uncontacted groups are exceptionally vulnerable to common disease—therefore, it states a risk is caused by contact with religious missionaries and online personalities looking for attention.

Lately, Mashco Piro people have been appearing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, according to residents.

The village is a fishing village of a handful of households, sitting atop on the shores of the Tauhamanu River in the center of the of Peru jungle, half a day from the closest settlement by boat.

The area is not designated as a preserved zone for remote communities, and logging companies operate here.

Tomas reports that, sometimes, the sound of industrial tools can be detected day and night, and the Mashco Piro people are seeing their forest damaged and ruined.

In Nueva Oceania, inhabitants state they are divided. They dread the Mashco Piro's arrows but they also possess deep respect for their “relatives” dwelling in the woodland and desire to defend them.

“Let them live as they live, we are unable to alter their culture. That's why we maintain our separation,” states Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the destruction to the community's way of life, the threat of aggression and the possibility that loggers might expose the community to sicknesses they have no immunity to.

During a visit in the village, the tribe made themselves known again. Letitia, a resident with a toddler daughter, was in the forest gathering food when she noticed them.

“We heard shouting, cries from individuals, numerous of them. Like there were a whole group shouting,” she shared with us.

It was the first time she had met the Mashco Piro and she ran. An hour later, her thoughts was continually pounding from fear.

“Since exist deforestation crews and operations cutting down the jungle they are fleeing, possibly out of fear and they come in proximity to us,” she stated. “We are uncertain how they will behave towards us. That's what frightens me.”

Two years ago, two loggers were confronted by the tribe while fishing. A single person was hit by an projectile to the gut. He lived, but the other person was located lifeless after several days with nine injuries in his frame.

The Peruvian government follows a policy of avoiding interaction with isolated people, rendering it illegal to start contact with them.

The strategy began in the neighboring country subsequent to prolonged of lobbying by indigenous rights groups, who noted that early contact with secluded communities could lead to whole populations being wiped out by sickness, hardship and hunger.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in the country first encountered with the broader society, a significant portion of their community died within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua people experienced the identical outcome.

“Secluded communities are very vulnerable—in terms of health, any exposure may spread sicknesses, and including the simplest ones could wipe them out,” explains a representative from a tribal support group. “In cultural terms, any exposure or disruption can be highly damaging to their existence and well-being as a group.”

For local residents of {