New aerial photos offer the first glimpse of an uncontacted tribe in the Brazilian Amazon that experts warn could be in danger of being wiped out.
The photos reveal a village in northern Brazil’s remote Yanomami indigenous territory that is estimated to be home to around 100 people.
The village, which is close to the Venezuelan border, has a typical Yanomami ‘yano’ – a large communal house for several families that can be seen in the images. Each of the yano’s square sections is home to a different family, where they hang their hammocks, maintain fires and keep food stores, according to tribal advocacy group Survival International.
Survival International warns that the area where the tribe lives is in danger of being over-run by 5,000 illegal gold miners, raising serious fears that they could be wiped out. “Miners have brought diseases like malaria to the region and polluted Yanomami food and water sources with mercury, leading to a serious health crisis,” the group warned, in a press release.
Diseases brought by outsiders such as flu and measles can also be devastating to tribes living in the remote area.
Survival International warns that the Brazilian government agents charged with protecting the Yanomami territory are facing severe budget cuts.
"We know that this uncontacted group is dangerously close to illegal gold miners, and that the small team dedicated to protecting the territory face stringent budget cuts,” Survival Internaional’s Campaigns Director Fiona Watson told FoxNews.com, via email. “Without proper protection, exposure to violence or disease could wipe out this highly vulnerable uncontacted people."
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