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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a modest open space far in the of Peru jungle when he noticed movements approaching through the thick woodland.

He realized he was surrounded, and stood still.

“One positioned, directing using an arrow,” he states. “Somehow he became aware I was here and I commenced to escape.”

He found himself face to face members of the Mashco Piro. For decades, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny village of Nueva Oceania—had been virtually a neighbor to these itinerant tribe, who avoid contact with foreigners.

A new document issued by a rights group claims exist at least 196 described as “uncontacted groups” in existence globally. The group is believed to be the biggest. The study claims half of these groups could be eliminated in the next decade if governments neglect to implement more actions to defend them.

It argues the most significant dangers come from timber harvesting, mining or drilling for crude. Uncontacted groups are extremely at risk to common illness—therefore, it notes a risk is posed by exposure with religious missionaries and online personalities in pursuit of engagement.

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

This settlement is a fishing hamlet of a handful of households, perched high on the shores of the Tauhamanu waterway in the heart of the of Peru Amazon, half a day from the most accessible town by boat.

This region is not designated as a safeguarded zone for isolated tribes, and timber firms function here.

According to Tomas that, at times, the racket of logging machinery can be noticed day and night, and the community are witnessing their forest damaged and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, people state they are divided. They fear the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold profound admiration for their “relatives” residing in the forest and want to defend them.

“Permit them to live according to their traditions, we can't alter their culture. For this reason we keep our distance,” explains Tomas.

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

During a visit in the settlement, the Mashco Piro made themselves known again. A young mother, a young mother with a young daughter, was in the jungle collecting fruit when she noticed them.

“We heard shouting, shouts from others, many of them. As though there was a large gathering yelling,” she told us.

It was the initial occasion she had come across the group and she fled. An hour later, her thoughts was still pounding from terror.

“Because operate deforestation crews and companies destroying the forest they are fleeing, maybe because of dread and they end up near us,” she explained. “It is unclear how they might react towards us. That is the thing that scares me.”

Recently, two individuals were confronted by the tribe while fishing. One was struck by an bow to the stomach. He survived, but the other person was found lifeless days later with multiple injuries in his body.

Authorities in Peru has a policy of no engagement with isolated people, making it prohibited to initiate interactions with them.

This approach was first adopted in the neighboring country following many years of advocacy by community representatives, who observed that first interaction with remote tribes resulted to whole populations being wiped out by disease, destitution and malnutrition.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in Peru came into contact with the outside world, a significant portion of their population died within a short period. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua community suffered the same fate.

“Remote tribes are very at risk—epidemiologically, any interaction could introduce sicknesses, and including the simplest ones might wipe them out,” says an advocate from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any exposure or disruption can be very harmful to their way of life and survival as a society.”

For local residents of {