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Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a small glade within in the of Peru jungle when he detected movements approaching through the thick forest.

It dawned on him that he stood encircled, and stood still.

“One positioned, directing using an arrow,” he remembers. “And somehow he noticed that I was present and I started to run.”

He had come face to face the Mashco Piro. For a long time, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny settlement of Nueva Oceania—had been almost a neighbour to these nomadic individuals, who shun engagement with foreigners.

A new report issued by a human rights group states remain at least 196 described as “isolated tribes” in existence globally. This tribe is thought to be the largest. The report says 50% of these communities may be decimated within ten years unless authorities fail to take additional actions to defend them.

It argues the most significant risks are from timber harvesting, extraction or exploration for oil. Remote communities are extremely susceptible to ordinary sickness—therefore, the report states a danger is caused by contact with evangelical missionaries and social media influencers looking for attention.

In recent times, Mashco Piro people have been venturing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, according to locals.

Nueva Oceania is a angling village of seven or eight households, located atop on the shores of the Tauhamanu River deep within the of Peru jungle, 10 hours from the closest town by boat.

This region is not classified as a preserved area for uncontacted groups, and deforestation operations work here.

Tomas reports that, on occasion, the noise of logging machinery can be noticed continuously, and the community are observing their jungle damaged and ruined.

Among the locals, residents state they are divided. They are afraid of the tribal weapons but they also possess strong respect for their “kin” who live in the jungle and wish to defend them.

“Allow them to live as they live, we are unable to change their traditions. This is why we keep our separation,” explains Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the harm to the tribe's survival, the threat of violence and the chance that timber workers might subject the tribe to sicknesses they have no defense to.

At the time in the village, the Mashco Piro made their presence felt again. A young mother, a young mother with a toddler girl, was in the jungle picking food when she detected them.

“We detected shouting, shouts from people, numerous of them. As though it was a large gathering yelling,” she shared with us.

This marked the first instance she had encountered the Mashco Piro and she escaped. After sixty minutes, her thoughts was still pounding from anxiety.

“Because there are timber workers and operations clearing the woodland they are escaping, maybe out of fear and they arrive close to us,” she stated. “It is unclear how they will behave with us. That's what scares me.”

Two years ago, two individuals were confronted by the group while catching fish. One was hit by an projectile to the abdomen. He lived, but the other person was found deceased after several days with several injuries in his frame.

The Peruvian government follows a strategy of avoiding interaction with remote tribes, making it illegal to initiate contact with them.

This approach originated in Brazil following many years of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who noted that early interaction with secluded communities could lead to entire groups being decimated by sickness, poverty and starvation.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in the country first encountered with the outside world, 50% of their community died within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua tribe faced the same fate.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are very at risk—in terms of health, any contact could spread diseases, and including the simplest ones could wipe them out,” explains an advocate from a local advocacy organization. “In cultural terms, any interaction or intrusion could be very harmful to their life and health as a community.”

For those living nearby of {