Rewilding Portugal makes the case for bringing back the brown bear

In the final article of a series on missing Portuguese fauna, Rewilding Portugal argues for considering the brown bear's return to the northern mountains as a long-term goal of the National Nature Restoration Plan. The species vanished from Portugal in 1843 through hunting, not habitat loss. The Pyrenees' formal reintroduction, launched in 1996, now counts over 100 bears, while a young male crossed from Spain into Montesinho in 2019, the first confirmed sighting since extinction. The piece calls for scientific assessment of carrying capacity, dialogue with rural communities, and coordination with Spain on natural expansion from the Cantabrian population.