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Peruvian government investigates arrow death by isolated tribe

By Andrew V. Pestano

LIMA, May 5 (UPI) -- The secluded Mashco-Piro tribe allegedly shot an arrow and killed a 20-year-old man, sparking an investigation by the Peruvian government.

Leonardo Perez Pena died instantly when the arrow pierced his chest on Friday after the tribe invaded his village, according to Peru's Ministry of Culture. The government later sent a group of indigenous culture specialists from the Vice Ministry of Multiculturalism in an effort to protect both communities.

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It is the third time this year that members of the Mashco-Piro have been seen. The most damage ever done by the tribe previously was minor property damage. It is not known why the tribe attacked Pena.

The tribe had recently been assigned protective services due to recent encounters and multiple risks to their welfare.

Mining, logging, and colonization threaten isolated tribes. Physical contact with isolated members is forbidden because they carry little resistance or immunity to diseases carried by other humans.

There are an estimated 15 uncontacted groups within Peru.

"Uncontacted tribes are extremely vulnerable to any form of contact with outsiders because they do not have immunity to Western diseases," indigenous human-rights organization Survival International states on its website. "Following first contact, it is common for more than 50 percent of a tribe to die. Sometimes all of them perish."

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The Mashco-Piro tribe has about 600 members that live in forests nomadically in separate groups.

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