🔙 Beaver returns to Portugal after 500 years

• Beaver has returned to Portugal after being extinct since the end of the 1400s, confirmed through camera traps and gnaw marks.
• The species functions as a natural ecosystem engineer that creates wetlands and improves water quality without human cost.
• European countries have developed successful coexistence models with compensation programs and technical solutions.

First confirmed findings in 500 years

After two decades of population recovery in Spain, the first beaver has now been confirmed in Portuguese territory. Rewilding Portugal has monitored the border area for several years and found unequivocal signs of the species' presence through gnaw marks on trees and structures that manipulate waterways.

Early placed camera traps confirmed the presence of a young adult beaver on Portuguese soil. In 2023, the newspaper Expresso reported that beaver was found approximately 150 meters from the Portuguese border, with regular registrations in the Arribes del Duero Natural Park.

The last known record of beaver in Portugal probably dates back to the end of the 1400s. Since then, the species has disappeared from the country's rivers due to intensive hunting and habitat destruction.

Natural river engineer creates diversity

The beaver functions as a true ecosystem engineer. Their instinctive behavior of building dams, digging channels and modifying riverbanks transforms the landscape and contributes to diversity, water retention and life.

By building dams, beavers create small wetlands, marshes and areas of standing water. These habitats house a great variety of species: amphibians, aquatic insects, water birds, fish and small mammals. The wetlands also function as natural water filters that retain sediment and pollutants while reducing the speed of surface runoff.

This mitigates the effects of flooding and erosion. By raising the water level at riverbanks, beavers increase water retention in the soil, something that is particularly relevant during prolonged drought and desertification.

There is growing evidence that habitats created by beavers function as natural defense lines against forest fires by maintaining permanently moist areas that break the fire's advance.

European success models for coexistence

The beaver's return brings challenges since their presence can sometimes affect plantations by riverbanks or infrastructure that is poorly adapted to the natural dynamics of rivers. Experiences from other European countries show that coexistence is possible through simple and effective mitigation measures.

In Sweden, the beaver was reintroduced last century and financial compensation programs were established for farmers and forest owners affected by flooding caused by dams. In Germany, Beaver Managers have emerged to mediate conflicts between beavers and human activities by installing water level control devices and promoting natural engineering solutions.

In France, several environmental education and awareness campaigns have been conducted about the beaver's importance, and several illustrated guides have been produced about the benefits of beavers and methods for dealing with potential problems.

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