Biggest uncontacted tribe in the world spotted in Peru

There are fears logging companies are driving the tribe out of the rainforest

Dozens of indigenous people from what is believed to be the biggest uncontacted tribe in the world have been spotted on the banks of a river in Peru.

Images and footage published by the indigenous rights organisation Survival International show dozens of Mashco Piro people close to the banks of the Las Piedras River in the Amazon rainforest.

The Mashco Piro – which Survival International believes to be the largest uncontacted tribe in the world – rarely venture out from their home between two natural reserves in Madre de Dios and have limited interaction with other tribes in the region.

However, campaigners fear that nearby logging activity is forcing them out of the rainforest more frequently, hence the sighting on the river bank, which was close to where logging companies have concessions.

“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,” Survival International’s director Caroline Pearce said.

“Indeed one logging company, Canales Tahuamanu, is already at work inside Mashco Piro territory, which the Mashco Piro have made clear they oppose.”

Alfredo Vargas Pio, head of indigenous rights group Fenamad, said: “This is irrefutable evidence that many Mashco Piro live in this area, which the government has not only failed to protect but actually sold off to logging companies.

“The logging workers could bring in new diseases which would wipe out the Mashco Piro, and there’s also a risk of violence on either side, so it is very important the territorial rights of the Mashco Piro are recognised and protected in law.”

According to Survival International, loggers working for Canales Tahuamanu are “not only penetrating deep into the forest, they have also constructed around 200 kilometres of logging roads”.

The nonprofit organisation said logging roads are “historically disastrous in the Amazon, providing an easy way into the previously inaccessible rainforest for colonisation and settlement.”

Pearce said: “This is a humanitarian disaster in the making – it’s absolutely vital that the loggers are thrown out, and the Mashco Piro’s territory is properly protected at last.”