World’s loneliest man: Last known survivor of Amazonian tribe

Captivating footage has emerged of the last known survivor of an Amazonian tribe who has wandered the rainforest alone for 22 years - after the rest of his people were wiped out by murderous land-grabbing cattle ranchers two decades ago. The half-naked man in his fifties uses an axe to chop down a tree in the footage taken by Brazilian government officials in the remote state of Rondonia.

There are believed to be 113 uncontacted tribes living in the Amazon, 27 of which have been sighted by experts who attempt to track their movements. This tribesman is known as ‘the indigenous man in the hole’ and was first caught on camera in 1998. He spends most of his time hunting forest pigs, birds and monkeys with a bow and arrow, and lives in a hut surrounded by papaya and corn plantations.

Experts from the Brazilian agency for native tribes, called FUNAI, believe the man belonged to a tribe of six - five of whom were murdered by farmers in the 90s. Survivors of other indigenous groups have told how invading farmers shot them in the back while taking their land during the period. And Funai has publicly blamed cattle ranchers for the deaths of his fellow tribespeople.

It is thought that he managed to survive when farmers and land grabbers killed and expelled indigenous Amazonians throughout the 1970s and 1980s. They do not know his name or the name of his tribe, but have worked to extend the area of his jungle home to 8,070 hectares so he can maintain his lifestyle. An indigenous reserve known as Tanara was set up in the 1990s as part of moves to protect his territory.