American explorer and conservationist Paul Rosolie, who has spent over two decades in the Amazon rainforest, shared his harrowing encounters with an isolated tribe. On a podcast with Steven Bartlett on february 2, Rosolie recounted details of an attack that resulted in the death of his close friend's father. "They often kill people", Rosolie stated.

Last month, Rosolie drew attention for releasing the world's first high-definition (HD) footage of an uncontacted tribe in an undisclosed region of Peru. Previously, images of these groups were typically "blurry phone photos taken from hundreds of meters away".

Rosolie's latest video detailed a specific incident. The day after the initial filming, his expedition team traveled downstream. George, a team member, acted as a peace negotiator. He urged everyone to bring more bananas for the tribe and cautioned them to lower their cameras, which could be mistaken for weapons.

an amazon tribe that has never contacted the modern world. *Mirror*

The next day, George navigated the boat as usual when the tribe reappeared further upstream. Unexpectedly, they moved along the riverbank instead of retreating into the forest. As George's boat approached, they launched a sudden volley of arrows. Everyone on board managed to duck under thick wooden benches, but George, who was steering, was hit by an arrow through his shoulder blade. He was evacuated by helicopter and miraculously survived. "He was never the same", Rosolie said, adding, "i could tell hundreds of stories about people they've killed".

Rosolie explained that Amazon tribes are adept at mimicking monkey and bird calls. If one hears unusual animal sounds in the forest, it often signals that tribe members have already surrounded them, bows drawn.

His friend experienced this firsthand while exploring near a stream with his father. They noticed the surrounding bird calls were unnatural – too close and too frequent. "That's when the tribe was closing in", Rosolie clarified. The tribes use animal sounds to keep prey, including humans, unsuspecting. Upon a command, arrows, each longer than two meters, are fired simultaneously. His friend's father was struck in the abdomen and died instantly. The son narrowly escaped and later recounted the story. Rosolie remains unsure of the exact reason for the father's killing.

According to Rosolie, the lives of these tribe members do not include a conventional concept of "happiness". Their existence is a struggle for survival, reminiscent of grim apocalyptic scenes. They prioritize calories, fight fiercely for resources, and abduct women from other tribes to sustain their lineage.

Researchers estimate nearly 200 uncontacted tribal groups still exist globally, predominantly in the Amazon rainforests of Brazil and Peru.

Direct contact can lead to devastating consequences. Information about these communities is primarily gathered through satellite imagery, aerial surveillance, and reports from neighboring indigenous groups.

In 2018, 26-year-old American missionary John Allen Chau was killed while attempting to contact the Sentinelese people on North Sentinel Island, one of the world's most isolated indigenous communities. Despite India's prohibition on accessing the island, Chau paid fishermen to take him ashore. He tried to introduce himself and preach, leaving gifts and documenting the encounter in his diary. However, the Sentinelese killed Chau immediately upon his arrival. His body was never recovered.

Historically, even brief contact has exposed tribal communities to diseases "harmless in developed countries" but fatal to them due to a lack of immunity. Biologists fear that accidentally introducing a virus could cause rapid, sometimes complete, population loss within a tribe.

Recent discoveries of hidden tribes have increased as industrial activities push deeper into the forest. Illegal logging, mining, and drug trafficking routes have diminished the buffer zones that once protected these groups.

By Hoai Anh (Based on Mirror, The Diary of A CEO)