SAO PAULO, May 30: Dramatic images of an isolated Brazilian tribe believed never to have had contact with the outside world were published by officials on Friday to draw attention to threats posed to their way of life.

The pictures, released by the Brazilian government’s National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), showed alarmed natives pointing bows and arrows at the aircraft carrying photographers.

The head of FUNAI’s environmental protection unit responsible for the images, Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirelles, said that the foundation had known of the existence of the tribe for years — located in thick rainforest near the Peruvian border — and many photos had been taken.

“We have been watching this isolated indigenous community for at least 20 years. The idea in revealing the photos was to raise the alarm over the risk threatening them,” he said in an interview from western Acre state, where the indigenous group is located.

He explained the tribe had been pushed slowly out of Peruvian territory into Brazil by loggers cutting down their Amazon basin habitat, and that the pace of the illegal deforestation was now accelerating.

“Peruvian authorities recently said this indigenous community doesn’t exist. Well, they do exist and they are facing an enormous risk,” Meirelles said.—AFP