Recent photographs have captured rare images of the Mashco Piro, a previously uncontacted tribe residing deep in the Peruvian Amazon, emerging from their isolated territory. Released by Survival International, these images depict numerous tribe members relaxing by a riverbank, highlighting growing concerns for the tribe’s well-being.
The Mashco Piro are facing significant threats due to increased logging activity in their region, which is likely pushing them out of their traditional lands. According to FENAMAD, a local Indigenous rights group, the tribe may be moving closer to settlements in search of food and a safer refuge.
The photos were taken in late June near the banks of a river in Madre de Dios, a southeastern Peruvian province bordering Brazil. “These incredible images show that a large number of isolated Mashco Piro live just a few kilometers from where the loggers are about to start their operations,” said Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International. More than 50 Mashco Piro individuals have appeared recently near the Yine village of Monte Salvado, with another group of 17 spotted in the nearby village of Puerto Nuevo, according to the NGO.
The Mashco Piro inhabit an area between two natural reserves in Madre de Dios. They have seldom been seen and do not typically communicate with the Yine or others. The presence of logging companies with timber concessions in their territory has exacerbated the situation. One such company, Canales Tahuamanu, has built over 200 kilometers (120 miles) of roads for logging trucks to extract timber. Despite holding certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, the company’s activities are encroaching on the Mashco Piro’s land.
On June 28, the Peruvian government reported sightings of the Mashco Piro on the Las Piedras River, 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios. The Mashco Piro have also been sighted across the border in Brazil, according to Rosa Padilha from the Brazilian Catholic bishops’ Indigenous Missionary Council in Acre. Padilha noted that the tribe flees from loggers on the Peruvian side and often appears on beaches during this time of year to collect Amazon turtle eggs, leaving behind footprints and turtle shells.
“The Mashco Piro are a people with no peace, restless because they are always on the run,” Padilha said, emphasizing the tribe’s continuous struggle for safety amidst the ongoing threats to their existence.
