Photographer stumbles across uncontacted tribe deep in the Amazon rainforest after his helicopter takes detour to dodge storm
Stunning pictures reveal a tribe living in the Brazilian state of Acre, near its border with Peru
A PHOTOGRAPHER has captured incredible new images of an uncontacted tribe living deep within the Amazon rainforest.
Ricardo Stuckert spotted them when the helicopter he was travelling in was diverted over their territory to avoid a storm.
The photographs are of a tribe living in the state of Acre, near the border with Peru, which is thought to have several hundred members.
One tribesman is seen stringing his bow, while another takes aim at the helicopter with an arrow. In another frame, a man with full-body paint and armed with a machete is seen running from a longhouse.
Other images show small clusters of tribesmen looking bewildered as they stare at the helicopter from the forest floor.
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Mr Stuckert was on his way to photograph another contacted tribe when the helicopter was diverted.
He told he happened to spot a longhouse in a forest clearing and instinctively began taking pictures.
"They seemed more inquisitive than fearful. I felt there was a mutual curiosity, on their part and mine. I felt like I was a painter in the last century.
"To think that in the 21st century, there are still people who have no contact with civilisation, living like their ancestors did 20,000 years ago - it's a powerful emotion."
There are thought to be around 100 uncontacted tribes left living in the Brazilian forest - all of which live in the far west, along the borders with Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.
The country enforces a "no contact" policy for these groups, though they are facing encroachment from illegal loggers.
Papua New Guinea and the Andaman Islands are among the few other regions to still contain uncontacted tribes.
It comes just a month after similar photographs emerged of another remote tribe located in Brazil's north.
While incredible pictures from Indonesia revealed the remote Dani tribe where women cut off a finger when a loved one dies.
And another series of astonishing snapshots showed some of the world's last remaining indigenous people.
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