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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a modest clearing within in the of Peru jungle when he heard footsteps approaching through the lush forest.

He became aware that he stood encircled, and stood still.

“One person was standing, directing with an arrow,” he remembers. “And somehow he became aware I was here and I commenced to flee.”

He ended up confronting the Mashco Piro tribe. For a long time, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny settlement of Nueva Oceania—was practically a neighbour to these nomadic individuals, who shun engagement with foreigners.

An updated document by a rights group states there are at least 196 described as “uncontacted groups” remaining worldwide. This tribe is believed to be the largest. The report claims a significant portion of these tribes may be wiped out over the coming ten years unless authorities don't do more measures to safeguard them.

It claims the most significant dangers come from deforestation, mining or exploration for petroleum. Isolated tribes are extremely susceptible to common illness—therefore, it says a danger is presented by interaction with religious missionaries and social media influencers looking for attention.

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

The village is a angling hamlet of a handful of households, perched elevated on the edges of the Tauhamanu River in the center of the of Peru jungle, half a day from the nearest village by boat.

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

Tomas says that, sometimes, the noise of heavy equipment can be heard continuously, and the tribe members are observing their woodland disrupted and destroyed.

Among the locals, inhabitants report they are divided. They are afraid of the tribal weapons but they hold deep admiration for their “brothers” residing in the forest and desire to safeguard them.

“Allow them to live in their own way, we can't change their traditions. For this reason we maintain our separation,” explains Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the damage to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the danger of conflict and the likelihood that timber workers might expose the tribe to illnesses they have no resistance to.

During a visit in the community, the tribe made themselves known again. A young mother, a woman with a two-year-old child, was in the woodland gathering fruit when she heard them.

“We heard cries, sounds from others, a large number of them. Like there was a whole group calling out,” she shared with us.

That was the first time she had come across the group and she fled. An hour later, her mind was still racing from terror.

“Since there are timber workers and firms clearing the forest they're running away, maybe out of fear and they come near us,” she stated. “We are uncertain what their response may be with us. That's what frightens me.”

Recently, two individuals were confronted by the group while fishing. A single person was struck by an arrow to the abdomen. He lived, but the other man was found lifeless subsequently with nine puncture marks in his body.

The administration has a strategy of non-contact with isolated people, establishing it as forbidden to commence contact with them.

The strategy originated in the neighboring country following many years of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who saw that early exposure with remote tribes resulted to entire groups being wiped out by illness, hardship and hunger.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau community in the country made initial contact with the world outside, 50% of their people died within a few years. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua people suffered the similar destiny.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are highly susceptible—in terms of health, any exposure may spread illnesses, and including the basic infections might eliminate them,” says an advocate from a tribal support group. “In cultural terms, any contact or interference could be extremely detrimental to their life and survival as a community.”

For local residents of {