A man has been living alone in the jungle in Brazil for more than two decades. He is considered the last survivor of his people. Ranchers are believed to have wiped out the indigenous group over the past century. Now the “loneliest man in the world” has died – albeit very peacefully.
An indigenous man who has been living alone and isolated in the Brazilian Amazon region for more than 25 years has died. This came from a message from the movement for indigenous peoples “Survival International”. According to the Brazilian Indigenous Authority Funai, which observed him, the man was found dead in a hammock during a round of checks with no signs of violence.
Known as “Índio Tanaru” or “Índio of the Hole,” the indigenous man who dug deep holes to trap animals and hide was believed to be the last survivor of his people and the only resident of the Tanaru indigenous territory in Rondônia state on the border to Bolivia. Human rights activists believe the remaining members were killed by ranchers when they entered the area in the 1970s and 1980s.
The region is considered the Wild West of Brazil, where land disputes are quickly resolved with weapons. “It symbolized both the appalling violence and cruelty done to tribal peoples in the name of colonization and economic gain, and their resistance,” said Fiona Watson of Survival International, according to the statement.
