When people think of uncontacted tribes, they usually think of the Amazon.

Most recently, footage emerged of an “uncontacted indigenous man”, who has lived alone in the Amazon for at least 22 years.

Pretty jealous, to be honest, because I bet he isn’t being bombarded with Black Friday deals from the moment he opens his eyes.

It turns out there is also a virtually uncontacted tribe on India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands, and in particular North Sentinel island, that doesn’t take very kindly to strangers.

27-year-old adventurer and Christian missionary John Allen Chau found that out the hard way, when he was shot with bows and arrows by the Sentinelese tribal people (pictured up top back in 2004 when they attacked a helicopter) as he set foot on the island.

Here’s BBC:

Chau was killed by Sentinelese tribal people after he bribed fishermen to take him to the island illegally…

Officials say the islanders have lived in isolation for nearly 60,000 years and therefore have no immunities to common illnesses such as the flu and measles.

Advocacy group Survival International said that by contacting the community, Chau [below] may have passed along pathogens that have the “potential to wipeout the entire tribe” of about 50 to 150 people.

Police had earlier said he had set out with hired fishermen under cover of darkness and paddled a kayak ashore before he was killed.

He had reportedly brought gifts for the islanders, including a small soccer ball, fishing line and scissors.

Some reports say that he had already visited the island up to five times, but his final visit quickly turned nasty. Here’s NewsAU:

As usual, the fishermen brought him as close to the island as they dared and the American paddled to shore in a canoe, AFP said, citing an official police source.

Exactly what happened next is unclear but the fishermen have told police Mr Chau was set upon from the moment his feet touched the sand.

“He was attacked by arrows but he continued walking,” the source said.

“The fishermen saw the (tribesmen) tying a rope around his neck and dragging his body.

“They were scared and fled but returned next morning to find his body on the sea shore.”

At the time of writing, it appears that Chau’s body has yet to be found, and Indian authorities believe he may have been buried.

Tribespeople also murdered two Indian fishermen in 2006, when their boat broke loose and drifted on to the shore.

Chau’s family has asked that any tribe members found to be involved in his killing not be prosecuted, posting this statement to his Instagram account:

Perhaps the moral of the story here is that some people are best left uncontacted, and there’s a reason they’ve lived in isolation for close to 60 000 years.

[sources:bbc&newsau]