Newly released photos show the World’s Largest Isolated tribe Mashco Piro, an uncontacted tribe in the Peruvian Amazon, emerging from their isolation. The images from Survival International depict tribe members by a riverbank, raising concerns about their well-being. FENAMAD, an Indigenous rights group, suggests that increased logging activity is likely displacing the tribe from their traditional lands, prompting them to move closer to settlements in search of food and safety.
Survival International reports that the photos of the Mashco Piro tribe were captured in late June along the banks of a river in the Madre de Dios region, a southeastern Peruvian province bordering Brazil.
Watch the video here:
❗️ New & extraordinary footage released today show dozens of uncontacted Mashco Piro Indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon, just a few miles from several logging companies.
Read the news: https://t.co/g9GrZlf3XB pic.twitter.com/fZv5rryzVp
— Survival International (@Survival) July 16, 2024
“These remarkable images reveal that a substantial number of isolated Mashco Piro are living just a few kilometers from impending logging operations,” stated Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International.
Recently, over 50 Mashco Piro individuals were spotted near the Yine village of Monte Salvado, and another group of 17 appeared in the nearby village of Puerto Nuevo, according to the NGO advocating for Indigenous rights.
The Mashco Piro, residing between two natural reserves in Madre de Dios, rarely emerge and have minimal communication with the Yine or other groups, according to Survival International.
Numerous logging companies hold timber concessions within the Mashco Piro’s territory.
One company, Canales Tahuamanu, has constructed over 200 kilometers (120 miles) of roads to facilitate timber extraction, according to Survival International. Despite requests for comments, representatives in Lima have remained silent. This company, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, manages 53,000 hectares (130,000 acres) of forest in Madre de Dios, extracting cedar and mahogany.
The Peruvian government reported on June 28 that local residents observed Mashco Piro along the Las Piedras River, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios. Additionally, sightings of the Mashco Piro have been reported across the border in Brazil, according to Rosa Padilha from the Brazilian Catholic Bishops’ Indigenous Missionary Council in the state of Acre.
“They escape from loggers on the Peruvian side,” she said. “During this season, they come to the beaches to collect tracajá (Amazon turtle) eggs. That’s when we see their footprints in the sand and find numerous turtle shells left behind.”
“They are a restless people, constantly fleeing and unable to find peace,” Padilha added.
