[googlryas]

These people usually know exactly how to get to civilization if they wanted to. Many have "walked out" of the forest and into civilization, and they generally become what people would recognize as bums and layabouts since they have basically no skills that are relevant to city life.

And they're observed remotely merely to help ensure that violent people don't disturb them - making sure they aren't killed or driven to civilization unless they want to go.