Out of the Woods

some members of the Nomole (Mashco) tribe, 2013                                                           Reuters

Here's something you probably won't see happening in many places in the world anymore. The residents of a couple of villages on the edge of Peru's Manu National Park have known for a while about their reclusive indigenous neighbors in the woods, but lately, they've been seeing more and more of them. And not necessarily always in a good way. "It’s a complex and rapidly evolving situation," according to this article in the National Geographic. "Any early contact with an isolated tribe carries a risk of death for all involved from violence or disease, as jungle immune systems are ill-equipped to handle the flu, measles, or even the common cold." The tribe in Peru, the Mashco or, as they call themselves, the Nomole, has become more aggressive in its forays, as well, which in the last year, has led to one death of a villager and the evacuation of two villages. Nor are they the only "uncontacted" tribe that seems to be reaching out. "Something has shifted," is how anthropologist Glenn Shepard of Brazil's Goeldi Museum puts it: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151013-uncontacted-tribes-mashco-nomole-peru-amazon/?utm_source=NatGeocom&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=inside_A_20151016&utm_campaign=Content&utm_rd=646700866