Should Peru's uncontacted tribes be left alone?

Photos of an uncontacted Peruvian tribe were released by a conservation group on Tuesday. (Survival International)A conservation group has released photos of tribal people in Peru that they say are "the most detailed sightings of uncontacted Indians ever recorded on camera."

Survival International released pictures of the Mascho-Piro tribe, which lives near Manu National Park in northeastern Peru.

Sightings of and encounters with the Mascho-Piro have increased in recent years. Survival blames illegal loggers and low-flying helicopters from nearby oil and gas projects for threatening the tribe's ancestral homes.

The Mascho-Piro is one of about 100 groups that have had little to no contact with the outside world. Peruvian authorities are struggling to keep others from encroaching on their territory, whether intended or otherwise, The Guardian reports.

Members of the tribe are blamed for bow-and-arrow attacks on people who passed by a riverbank close to their territory, as well as for ransacking a jungle ranger's post that was later removed.

And in November, an arrow killed Nicolas "Shaco" Flores, a man who had previously made contact with the Mascho-Piro. According to an account by anthropologist Glenn Shephard, the deadly encounter is further proof that the tribe wants nothing more than to be left alone.

How should Peruvian authorities handle the Masco-Piro people? Should they be addressing their recent attacks on passersby? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.


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