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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a modest clearing deep in the of Peru jungle when he heard footsteps coming closer through the thick forest.

He realized he was encircled, and froze.

“One person was standing, aiming with an bow and arrow,” he states. “Somehow he noticed I was here and I commenced to escape.”

He ended up face to face the Mashco Piro tribe. Over many years, Tomas—who lives in the modest settlement of Nueva Oceania—served as virtually a local to these wandering people, who shun contact with outsiders.

A new report issued by a human rights organization states exist no fewer than 196 described as “remote communities” in existence in the world. The group is considered to be the largest. It claims half of these communities may be eliminated within ten years if governments neglect to implement additional to protect them.

The report asserts the greatest threats are from deforestation, extraction or drilling for oil. Uncontacted groups are extremely susceptible to basic illness—therefore, it notes a threat is presented by contact with proselytizers and digital content creators in pursuit of engagement.

Lately, members of the tribe have been coming to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, according to locals.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's village of a handful of clans, sitting atop on the edges of the local river in the center of the of Peru Amazon, 10 hours from the most accessible settlement by boat.

This region is not designated as a safeguarded reserve for isolated tribes, and logging companies work here.

Tomas reports that, sometimes, the sound of logging machinery can be noticed day and night, and the community are observing their jungle disturbed and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, residents report they are torn. They are afraid of the tribal weapons but they also possess profound regard for their “relatives” who live in the forest and desire to protect them.

“Allow them to live in their own way, we must not alter their way of life. This is why we preserve our separation,” states Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are worried about the damage to the tribe's survival, the risk of aggression and the likelihood that loggers might expose the community to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

While we were in the community, the tribe made their presence felt again. A young mother, a young mother with a two-year-old child, was in the forest picking fruit when she noticed them.

“We heard shouting, cries from people, a large number of them. As though it was a large gathering yelling,” she shared with us.

It was the first time she had come across the group and she escaped. After sixty minutes, her head was continually pounding from fear.

“Because there are timber workers and operations destroying the forest they are fleeing, perhaps out of fear and they come near us,” she explained. “It is unclear how they will behave with us. That's what frightens me.”

Recently, a pair of timber workers were assaulted by the tribe while catching fish. A single person was struck by an projectile to the abdomen. He recovered, but the second individual was discovered dead days later with several arrow wounds in his frame.

Authorities in Peru maintains a approach of non-contact with secluded communities, establishing it as prohibited to start contact with them.

The policy began in Brazil after decades of advocacy by tribal advocacy organizations, who saw that initial exposure with remote tribes lead to whole populations being eliminated by disease, hardship and malnutrition.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau community in Peru came into contact with the world outside, 50% of their community died within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua community suffered the similar destiny.

“Secluded communities are extremely susceptible—in terms of health, any contact may transmit diseases, and including the basic infections may eliminate them,” says Issrail Aquisse from a Peruvian indigenous rights group. “From a societal perspective, any exposure or intrusion may be extremely detrimental to their life and survival as a community.”

For local residents of {