Officials from Brazil's National Indian Foundation (Funai) have announced the discovery of another uncontacted tribe living deep inside the Amazon Jungle. The tribe is estimated to have a population of about 200 people who have continued to live in the same natural manner for centuries, untouched by the modern world.

Evidence of the tribe first surfaced when researchers spotted a small clearing while reviewing satellite images of the Amazon. The clearing intrigued them enough to conduct a flyover of the region in April, which produced photographs that showed several small huts clustered together in the rainforest near a copse of banana trees. The images that were taken also provided enough data to allow Funai to estimate the size of the tribe.

The tribe is said to be just one of several living in the Vale do Javari region of the Amazon, which is amongst its most remote places on the planet. Researchers believe that there are as many as 14 uncontacted tribes still living in that area, with roughly 2000 people amongst them.

In recent years, it has been the policy of the Brazilian government to avoid contacting these tribes in remote regions and to work instead to preserve their environments. That will be the case with this most recently discovered community as well, although their lifestyle is ultimately threatened by a number of outside forces. For example, deforestation, mining, hunting, and numerous other environmental concerns are taking their toll on the Amazon, which could eventually have an impact on these tribes as well.

Still, I think it's amazing that there are people in remote places that have yet to be visited by outsiders. We really do live on an amazing planet.

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