European beaver confirmed back in Portugal after 500 years

A monitoring team from Rewilding Portugal confirmed in May 2025 the presence of a young adult European beaver in the Douro International Natural Park, near the mouth of the Tormes river, after gnaw marks and camera-trap footage documented it. The species had been absent from Portugal for roughly 500 years, wiped out by hunting and wetland destruction. Its return follows the natural spread of Spanish populations, descended from beavers released unofficially on the Ebro basin in 2003. The article argues a single disperser does not make a population, and calls for a formal reintroduction programme across the Douro and Tagus basins to secure breeding groups and manage conflicts with farmers.