A rare photo has been spotted of the Mashco Piro, a previously uncontacted tribe living deep in the Peruvian Amazon, emerging from their isolated patch of land. The photo, released by Survival International on Tuesday, shows a large group of tribe members relaxing on a riverbank. The sighting comes amid growing concern for the safety of the Mashco Piro people.
According to local indigenous rights group FENAMAD, increased logging activities in the area are likely to push tribes off their traditional lands, and the Mashko-Piro people may be moving closer to their settlements in search of food and safer shelter.
Photo: Mashko Piro – Rare Photos of Uncontacted Amazonian Tribes
Survival International said the photos were taken in late June near a riverbank in Madre de Dios, a southeastern Peruvian state that borders Brazil.
Watch the video here:
“These shocking images show the isolated Mashko Piro people living alone, just kilometres from where loggers are about to begin their work,” said Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International.
More than 50 Mashco Piro people have recently turned up near the Yine village of Monte Salvado, and a further group of 17 has turned up in the nearby village of Puerto Nuevo, according to an indigenous rights NGO.
According to Survival International, the Mashco-Piro people, who live in the area located between the two Madre de Dios nature reserves, are as a rule rarely seen and do not communicate much with the Yine people or anyone else.
Several logging companies hold timber concessions within areas inhabited by the Mashko-Piro people.
According to Survival International, a company called Canales Tawamanu has built more than 200 kilometers (120 miles) of roads for logging trucks to harvest timber.
Lima representative Canales Tawamanu did not respond to a request for comment.
The company is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and says it owns 53,000 hectares (130,000 acres) of forestland in Madre de Dios, where it harvests cedar and mahogany.
The Peruvian government said on June 28 that locals had reported seeing Mashco Piro in the Las Piedras River, 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the city of Puerto Maldonado, capital of Madre de Dios region.
The Mashco-Piro have also been spotted across the border in Brazil, said Rosa Padilha of the Brazilian Catholic Bishops’ Indigenous Missionary Council in Acre state.
“They’re fleeing from loggers in Peru,” she says. “This is the time of year when they come to the coast to collect Amazon turtle eggs. Their footprints are left in the sand. They leave lots of turtle shells behind.”
“They are restless people who have never known peace and are always on the run,” Padilha said.
Today’s Featured Video
A year after NCP split, Ajit Pawar struggles to stop uncle’s exodus to camp