Indigenous people who climb trees regularly to survive have seen major changes to their feet
Topics: News, World News, Science
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Pete Oxford/Media Drum World
Topics: News, World News, Science
Amazing photos of a tribe in Ecuador has shown what their lives look like.
The group of Indigenous people, known as the Huaorani tribe, live in the Amazonian region of Ecuador.
It's said as that as many as 4,000 people reside in the remote part of the world, and that the tribe speak their own language that's not known to any one outside the group.
Advert
The Indigenous people live off the land, and even climb trees to hunt monkeys as prey.
Due to their lifestyle, their bodies have begun to adapt - their feet in particular.
In images taken by British conservation photographer Pete Oxford, one man's feet have totally changed to that of someone you might find elsewhere on the planet.
In the photo, you see that his biggest toe faces more inwards rather than straight, adding more of a curve to the inside of his foot.
However, they're not born with their feet like this - it's believed they adapt over time.
The rest of tribe member's toes are also more spread out, which will likely make it slightly easier to climb trees.
They also appear to be almost completely flat.
It's even been reported that some people in the tribe have six fingers and toes, as per history dedicated X page @historyinmemes.
"Due to their longstanding practice of tree climbing, a crucial skill for their way of life, the Huaorani people have experienced physical adaptations in their feet," a post on the social media page reads.
"The tribe primarily relies on hunting monkeys and other small game using spears and blow guns as a major food source.
"The combination of a limited gene pool, constant exposure to the challenging environment, and the necessity of climbing trees has resulted in the flattening of their feet."
While some Indigenous groups shut themselves off from outside influences, the Huaorani tribe appear to be quite welcoming - evidently having welcomed Oxford into their world to take photographs.
It's said they've been in contact with people outside the tribe for 60 years, but the tribe's history dates back hundreds of years.
In fact, they even allowed an American YouTuber, who goes by the name xiaomanyc on the platform, to follow them round on one of their hunts.
Xioama got down and dirty with the tribe, even stripping down to his birthday suit like they do.
While the Huaorani tribe have their own language, it appears as if the multi-lingual YouTuber was able to converse with them in Spanish.
Xiaoma went on to label the experience as 'one of the craziest things I’ve ever done'.