Rare photos have captured the Mashco Piro, a previously uncontacted tribe deep in the Peruvian Amazon, emerging from their isolated territory. The images, released by Survival International on Tuesday, show numerous tribe members relaxing by a riverbank. This sighting comes amid growing concerns about the Mashco Piro's well-being.
According to FENAMAD, a local Indigenous rights group, increased logging activity in the area is likely pushing the tribe out of their traditional lands. The Mashco Piro may be venturing closer to settlements in search of food and a safer refuge.
Pics: Mashco Piro - Rare Photos Of Uncontacted Amazon Tribe
Survival International reports the photos were taken in late June near the banks of a river in Madre de Dios, a southeastern Peruvian province bordering Brazil.
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"These incredible images show that a large number of isolated Mashco Piro live alone a few kilometres from where the loggers are about to start their operations," said Survival International director Caroline Pearce.
More than 50 Mashco Piro people appeared in recent days near a village of the Yine people called Monte Salvado. Another group of 17 appeared in the nearby village of Puerto Nuevo, said the NGO, which defends Indigenous rights.
The Mashco Piro, who inhabit an area located between two natural reserves in Madre de Dios, have seldom appeared as a rule and do not communicate much with the Yine or anyone, according to Survival International.
Several logging companies hold timber concessions inside the territory inhabited by the Mashco Piro.
One company, Canales Tahuamanu, has built more than 200 kilometres (120 miles) of roads for its logging trucks to extract timber, according to Survival International.
A Canales Tahuamanu representative in Lima did not respond to a request for comment.
The company is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, according to which it has 53,000 hectares (130,000 acres) of forests in Madre de Dios to extract cedar and mahogany.
The Peruvian government reported on June 28 that local residents had reported seeing Mashco Piro on the Las Piedras river, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios.
The Mashco Piro have also been sighted across the border in Brazil, said Rosa Padilha, at the Brazilian Catholic bishops' Indigenous Missionary Council in the state of Acre.
"They flee from loggers on the Peruvian side," she said. "At this time of the year, they appear on the beaches to take tracajá (Amazon turtle) eggs. That's when we find their footprints on the sand. They leave behind a lot of turtle shells."
"They are a people with no peace, restless because they are always on the run," Padilha said.
