Rare Footage: Last Survivor of Reclusive Amazonian Tribe Caught On Camera

An unnamed man, presumably belonging to a yet uncontacted Amazonian tribe was caught on camera in fascinating and extremely rare footage.

The identity of the man is not known, nor anything else about his culture but it is presumed that he is perhaps the last surviving member of the tribe. 

Called “the most isolated man on the planet,” he was seen deep in Rondonia, Brazil in 2011, deep in the forest.

The long-haired man, who seems to be in his 50s was seen cutting into a tree with a sharp, handmade tool.

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The video was released by FUNAI quite recently to show the struggle of indigenous and uncontacted tribes.

FUNAI, a group that works towards the welfare of indigenous tribes has been keeping tabs on him for 22 years and has confirmed that they had knowledge of his existence as far back as 1996 when he was seen by local loggers.

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Up until now, the world had only seen a single, blurry picture that showed his face partially obscured by straw.

It is presumed that his tribe was slaughtered in the 1970s and the 1980s by gunmen hired by ranchers. He was the last one left by the 1990s.

Efforts to contact him have not worked and he has not reached out himself either but evidence of his existence has been gathered from campsites he has abandoned.

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Experts have deduced that he grows food in the form of papayas, bananas, maniocs and even corn. He also sets traps with spikes in the ground to catch animals.

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To further protect him, the government dedicated protected land to him which is off-limits to people. These efforts to protect him have not always been successful since he was shot at by gunmen in 2009.

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the attacks mostly come from people in the agribusiness who wish to eliminate him and get the protection on the land removed. His ‘safe zone’ is surrounded by cattle farms ready to engulf his protected area.

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Stephen Corry, the director of Survival International said, “Uncontacted tribes aren’t primitive relics of a remote past. They live in the here and now. They are our contemporaries and a vital part of humankind’s diversity, but face catastrophe unless their land is protected.”

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