PERU: Survival International releases three photos of an isolated tribe in Peru that the group says are 'the most detailed sightings of uncontacted Indians' ever photographed

Record ID: 602688

  • Title: PERU: Survival International releases three photos of an isolated tribe in Peru that the group says are 'the most detailed sightings of uncontacted Indians' ever photographed
  • Date: 1st February 2012
  • Summary: LIMA, PERU (JANUARY 31, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ANTHROPOLOGIST BEATRIZ HUERTAS, SAYING: "Each summer they come out like this to the low lands of their territories to hunt, gather, they collect reeds to make bows and arrows, they collect turtle eggs."
  • Embargoed: 16th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Peru, Peru
  • Country: Peru
  • Topics: Environment,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAAM07B4DIHM8OIRWTA7Z9RJJV2
  • Story Text: A British advocacy group released on Tuesday (January 31) rare photos of an isolated tribe living in the Amazon region of south-eastern Peru.
    According to Survival International, the three photos show a family from the Mashco-Piro tribe and are "the most detailed sightings of uncontacted Indians ever recorded on camera."
    The photos were taken near the Manu National Park, where the tribe is believed to live.
    "They are called Mashco-piro. They are one of the indigenous tribes that live in isolation that live in the Peruvian Amazon. They are located between Madre de Dios and Ucayali and they probably reach the Urubamba basin," said Beatriz Huertas, an Anthropologist and expert on Peruvian tribes of the Amazon and Andes.
    Huertas explained that the tribe comes down to lower ground during the summer months in order to gather supplies ahead of the winter.
    "Each summer they come out like this to the low lands of their territories to hunt, gather, they collect reeds to make bows and arrows, they collect turtle eggs," she said.
    Reported sightings of the Indians have been rare in the past, but increasingly more frequent in recent months.
    "They are vulnerable because when they live in isolation they don't development immune defences to fight what are for them external illnesses that could simple illnesses such as the flu, respiratory infections, also diarrhoea. These illnesses can cause death," warned Huertas.
    Survival International believes the recent activity of the Mashco-Piro could be attributed to illegal logging near the park and low-flying helicopters from nearby oil and gas projects displacing them from their homes.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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