- Naturalist Bertrand Couillens detected last year the clues that led him to video footage, in the end, the ONCFS forest rangers: The beaver has reappeared on the Errobi River, in particular in the vicinity of Uztaritze. It was over 300 years since it was last seen in these respects.
The beaver (Castor fiver) disappeared from the rivers of the Basque Country in the 18th century, was paid expensive when he was slaughtered by hunters seeking his skin. Since then, the Basques have seen that animal only in American films.
Apparently, in 2003, the Belgian environmental group Pays de Castors released 18 castors in Navarre at the confluence of the Aragon and Ebro rivers. Since then, they have gradually spread along the margins of the rivers of Navarra, La Rioja and Álava. It has now been demonstrated in Lapurdi that he has arrived there, and the experts believe that it will be one of the liberated groups in Navarre that has reached Errobi.
The Basque Wikipedia states that "the government of the Foral Community of Navarra and the government of La Rioja have tried, but in vain, to eliminate these castors". However, the ONFCS forest rangers have told public television France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine that they will not chase the animal, as it is a protected animal in France. Yes, they will try to film it again and get to know it more closely. According to the experts, it is a beaver that circulates through Errobi.