Facts

• On Sat., Brazil's Indigenous Affairs Agency (FUNAI) announced the death of the last remaining member of an uncontacted Brazilian indigenous tribe, known as the "Man of the Hole" and believed to be about 60 years old.^[1]
• A FUNAI agent found the man's feather-covered body in a hammock outside his straw hut on Aug. 23 – likely 40 to 50 days after his passing – in the Tanaru Indigenous Territory, in the Rondônia state, bordering Bolivia. There were no signs of violence and it is believed he died of natural causes.^[2]
• After his tribe was decimated in attacks carried out by illegal ranchers that began in the 1980s, the unnamed man lived in total isolation for 26 years, rejecting contact with officials and rebuffing their strategically placed gifts.^[3]
• The death of the man, who reportedly dug dozens of deep holes to trap animals in his territory over the years, marks the first time that the disappearance of an uncontacted tribe has been reported in the country. However, other such societies are likely to have gone extinct without being documented.^[4]
• Brazil has a reported population of about 800K Indigenous people, who belong to more than 300 groups. Very little is known about what estimates suggest are as many as 114 isolated Indigenous groups.^[5]
• Among other isolated tribes facing the threat of extinction, the country's central-western Piripkura tribe is said to be the most endangered as it is reportedly down to three members.^[6]