An indigenous 'Forest Guardian' has been murdered by illegal loggers in the Amazon, leaders of the Guajajara tribe in northern Brazil said.

Key points: Illegal loggers killed one man and injured another in the attack

Illegal loggers killed one man and injured another in the attack Such incidents have been increasing since President Jair Bolsonaro vowed to open up protected lands to development

Such incidents have been increasing since President Jair Bolsonaro vowed to open up protected lands to development Indigenous leaders say tribes have been left to defend themselves from the invasion of their lands

Paulo Paulino Guajajara, or Lobo (which means 'wolf' in Portuguese), was hunting on Friday inside the Arariboia reservation in Maranhao state when he was attacked and shot in the head.

Another Guajajara, Laercio, was wounded but escaped, tribe leaders said.

Illegal loggers and miners have been moving into tribal reservations in increasing numbers since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took office this year and vowed to open up protected indigenous lands to economic development.

Indigenous leaders accuse the government of dismantling environmental and indigenous agencies, leaving tribes to defend themselves from the invasion of their lands.

Indigenous tribes say have been left to defend themselves from the invasion of their lands. ( Reuters: Ueslei Marcelino )

Brazil's federal police said they had sent a team to investigate the circumstances of Paulino Guajajara's death.

His body was reportedly still lying in the forest where he was killed.

The Guajajaras, one of Brazil's largest indigenous groups with some 20,000 people, set up the Guardians of the Forest in 2012 to patrol a vast reservation.

Guajajara Indians "forest guardians" detain a logger during a search for illegal loggers in September 2019. ( Reuters: Ueslei Marcelino )

The area is so large that a small and endangered tribe, the Awa Guaja, lives deep in the forest without any contact with the outside world.

Paulino Guajajara, who was in his twenties and leaves behind one son, told Reuters in an interview on the reservation in September that protecting the forest from intruders had become a dangerous task, but his people could not give in to fear.

Reuters/ABC