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Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a modest clearing within in the of Peru rainforest when he heard movements coming closer through the dense woodland.

He became aware that he stood surrounded, and halted.

“One person was standing, pointing using an arrow,” he states. “Somehow he detected I was here and I began to flee.”

He had come face to face the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—dwelling in the modest settlement of Nueva Oceania—served as practically a neighbour to these itinerant people, who avoid interaction with foreigners.

A recent document from a rights organisation indicates there are no fewer than 196 termed “isolated tribes” in existence globally. The Mashco Piro is thought to be the most numerous. The study states 50% of these groups could be eliminated within ten years unless authorities fail to take more actions to defend them.

It argues the most significant risks are from deforestation, digging or drilling for oil. Uncontacted groups are extremely susceptible to common illness—as such, the report notes a danger is posed by contact with evangelical missionaries and online personalities looking for clicks.

In recent times, members of the tribe have been appearing to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, according to residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishing hamlet of a handful of families, perched atop on the banks of the local river in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, 10 hours from the closest town by boat.

This region is not classified as a safeguarded area for remote communities, and timber firms operate here.

Tomas reports that, at times, the sound of industrial tools can be noticed continuously, and the Mashco Piro people are observing their woodland damaged and ruined.

Among the locals, residents say they are torn. They are afraid of the projectiles but they also have profound regard for their “kin” dwelling in the woodland and wish to safeguard them.

“Allow them to live as they live, we can't modify their traditions. That's why we preserve our distance,” says Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the damage to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of aggression and the possibility that deforestation crews might expose the tribe to illnesses they have no immunity to.

At the time in the community, the group made their presence felt again. A young mother, a young mother with a two-year-old girl, was in the woodland picking fruit when she heard them.

“We heard calls, cries from individuals, numerous of them. As if there was a crowd shouting,” she shared with us.

This marked the first instance she had encountered the Mashco Piro and she escaped. An hour later, her head was persistently pounding from terror.

“As exist timber workers and companies destroying the forest they're running away, possibly because of dread and they end up close to us,” she stated. “We don't know what their response may be with us. That's what scares me.”

Two years ago, two loggers were assaulted by the Mashco Piro while angling. One was hit by an arrow to the gut. He lived, but the other man was located lifeless days later with several injuries in his frame.

Authorities in Peru has a approach of avoiding interaction with secluded communities, making it illegal to initiate encounters with them.

The policy was first adopted in Brazil subsequent to prolonged of lobbying by indigenous rights groups, who noted that first interaction with isolated people could lead to entire communities being wiped out by disease, poverty and starvation.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau people in Peru first encountered with the world outside, half of their people perished within a matter of years. A decade later, the Muruhanua people suffered the similar destiny.

“Secluded communities are highly vulnerable—from a disease perspective, any interaction could transmit diseases, and even the simplest ones could decimate them,” explains Issrail Aquisse from a Peruvian indigenous rights group. “Culturally too, any contact or intrusion may be very harmful to their existence and survival as a community.”

For those living nearby of {