Fears are mounting that an uncontacted tribe living deep in the Amazon rainforest could be wiped out by something as simple as a common cold after members were spotted near a remote village in Peru.
Recently, members of the tribe have been seen near the Yine Indigenous community of Nueva Oceania in the Madre de Dios region, raising concerns that their survival is under threat.
The Mashco Piro people have lived in isolation for centuries to protect their culture and avoid deadly diseases, but their lack of immunity means even a minor infection could be deadly for the whole tribe.
Enrique Añez, president of the Yine community, said: ‘It is very worrying; they are in danger. We can hear the engines. The isolated people are also hearing them.
‘Heavy machinery is once again clearing paths, and crossing our river and cutting down our trees. Something bad could happen again.’
The sightings come as a logging company resumes operations in the area to build a bridge across the Tahuamanu River, opening up the forest to heavy trucks and bulldozers.
Activists warn this could bring disaster for one of the world’s largest uncontacted groups.
César Ipenza, an environmental lawyer in Peru, said: ‘These Indigenous peoples are exposed and vulnerable to any type of contact or disease, yet extractive activities continue despite all the evidence of the problems they cause in the territory.’
The Mashco Piro fiercely protect their territory – in 2024, four loggers were killed in bow-and-arrow attacks after entering their land. There is no information about how many people in the tribe were killed or injured.
However, they have suffered devastating losses from diseases in the past when outsiders made contact.
Now, campaigners say history could repeat itself as roads and bridges make it easier for intruders to enter their ancestral home.
Teresa Mayo, a researcher at Survival International said: ‘Exactly one year after the encounters and the deaths, nothing has changed in terms of land protection and the Yine are now reporting to have seen both the Mashco Piro and the loggers exactly in the same space almost at the same time. The clash could be imminent.’
Mayo’s organisation warns that logging is destroying the Mashco Piro’s territory and pushing them toward villages in search of food and resources. Any close contact could spark an epidemic.
The company at the centre of the controversy, Maderera Canales Tahuamanu (MCT), has denied wrongdoing in the past and continues to operate under a government license despite widespread criticism.
Mayo says the firm has a license from the government, which they use to justify their activities in the area.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which certifies sustainable wood products, suspended its approval of MCT until November after complaints from Indigenous groups.
However, advocates say the bridge and fresh machinery tracks are proof that logging is still happening.
The Peruvian government has insisted it is taking action to ensure the continued protection of the tribe.
But campaigners argue this is not enough, pointing out that the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve, set up in 2002 to protect uncontacted tribes, has failed to prevent logging in large areas of the forest.
MCT’s concessions still overlap parts of the tribe’s land, and efforts to expand the reserve since 2016 have stalled.
Experts warn that unless the government acts now, the Mashco Piro could face extinction.
