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Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a small glade within in the of Peru rainforest when he noticed sounds drawing near through the dense woodland.

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

“One person was standing, aiming with an bow and arrow,” he recalls. “And somehow he became aware of my presence and I started to escape.”

He had come face to face members of the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—residing in the small settlement of Nueva Oceania—served as virtually a neighbor to these wandering tribe, who reject engagement with strangers.

An updated document by a rights organization states remain a minimum of 196 of what it calls “uncontacted groups” remaining globally. The Mashco Piro is considered to be the largest. The study says a significant portion of these communities might be decimated within ten years if governments don't do additional measures to safeguard them.

It claims the most significant threats come from deforestation, digging or operations for oil. Uncontacted groups are highly susceptible to basic disease—as such, the report states a risk is posed by exposure with evangelical missionaries and social media influencers seeking engagement.

In recent times, Mashco Piro people have been coming to Nueva Oceania more and more, based on accounts from locals.

The village is a fishing hamlet of seven or eight households, perched high on the edges of the Tauhamanu River deep within the of Peru jungle, 10 hours from the nearest village by boat.

This region is not recognised as a protected reserve for isolated tribes, and timber firms function here.

According to Tomas that, at times, the noise of heavy equipment can be noticed around the clock, and the tribe members are seeing their jungle damaged and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, inhabitants report they are divided. They are afraid of the tribal weapons but they hold profound admiration for their “kin” dwelling in the jungle and wish to protect them.

“Permit them to live according to their traditions, we can't alter their culture. That's why we keep our separation,” states Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are worried about the destruction to the tribe's survival, the risk of conflict and the chance that deforestation crews might introduce the Mashco Piro to illnesses they have no immunity to.

At the time in the village, the tribe made themselves known again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a resident with a two-year-old child, was in the woodland picking produce when she detected them.

“We detected shouting, sounds from individuals, numerous of them. As though it was a crowd yelling,” she informed us.

It was the first time she had come across the group and she fled. An hour later, her mind was still throbbing from fear.

“As operate deforestation crews and companies destroying the woodland they are fleeing, perhaps out of fear and they arrive close to us,” she explained. “We don't know how they will behave with us. That is the thing that frightens me.”

Two years ago, a pair of timber workers were confronted by the Mashco Piro while fishing. One was hit by an arrow to the abdomen. He lived, but the second individual was found lifeless after several days with multiple puncture marks in his physique.

Authorities in Peru maintains a policy of avoiding interaction with secluded communities, rendering it forbidden to commence interactions with them.

This approach began in the neighboring country after decades of campaigning by community representatives, who observed that initial exposure with secluded communities lead to entire groups being wiped out by disease, hardship and malnutrition.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau community in the country made initial contact with the broader society, 50% of their people perished within a few years. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe experienced the similar destiny.

“Remote tribes are highly vulnerable—from a disease perspective, any contact may introduce illnesses, and even the most common illnesses may wipe them out,” states a representative from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any contact or disruption could be extremely detrimental to their life and survival as a community.”

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