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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a small glade within in the of Peru rainforest when he heard sounds coming closer through the thick jungle.

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

“A single individual was standing, pointing with an arrow,” he recalls. “Unexpectedly he became aware of my presence and I commenced to flee.”

He ended up encountering members of the Mashco Piro. For a long time, Tomas—dwelling in the small village of Nueva Oceania—served as practically a neighbor to these nomadic tribe, who shun engagement with foreigners.

A recent document by a rights organization states exist no fewer than 196 described as “isolated tribes” in existence worldwide. The Mashco Piro is thought to be the largest. The study says half of these tribes may be decimated within ten years if governments neglect to implement further to protect them.

It argues the biggest threats come from deforestation, mining or exploration for crude. Remote communities are highly vulnerable to common sickness—consequently, it notes a danger is presented by contact with evangelical missionaries and online personalities looking for engagement.

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

This settlement is a fishermen's community of several clans, sitting atop on the banks of the Tauhamanu River deep within the Peruvian Amazon, a ten-hour journey from the most accessible town by boat.

The territory is not recognised as a preserved zone for uncontacted groups, and logging companies work here.

According to Tomas that, sometimes, the sound of heavy equipment can be noticed day and night, and the community are witnessing their forest disrupted and destroyed.

In Nueva Oceania, residents say they are divided. They fear the projectiles but they also have deep admiration for their “brothers” who live in the woodland and desire to safeguard them.

“Let them live in their own way, we can't change their way of life. That's why we preserve our separation,” states Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the destruction to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of conflict and the likelihood that loggers might expose the community to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

While we were in the settlement, the tribe made their presence felt again. A young mother, a resident with a toddler girl, was in the woodland gathering produce when she heard them.

“We heard shouting, sounds from others, numerous of them. As though there were a crowd calling out,” she told us.

This marked the first instance she had encountered the Mashco Piro and she fled. An hour later, her mind was still racing from fear.

“As there are deforestation crews and companies clearing the jungle they are escaping, perhaps because of dread and they come in proximity to us,” she stated. “We don't know how they will behave with us. That's what scares me.”

Recently, two loggers were attacked by the Mashco Piro while catching fish. One was struck by an projectile to the abdomen. He recovered, but the other person was found deceased after several days with several injuries in his body.

The administration maintains a strategy of avoiding interaction with isolated people, making it forbidden to initiate interactions with them.

This approach began in the neighboring country subsequent to prolonged of campaigning by community representatives, who observed that first interaction with remote tribes resulted to entire groups being eliminated by illness, poverty and starvation.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in the country first encountered with the broader society, half of their community perished within a matter of years. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe faced the same fate.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are highly vulnerable—in terms of health, any interaction might transmit diseases, and even the basic infections could eliminate them,” states an advocate from a local advocacy organization. “From a societal perspective, any interaction or intrusion may be very harmful to their existence and survival as a group.”

For local residents of {