and were released in March 2003, though the people responsible were never identified. The regional governments attempted to remove the animals, receiving criticism from conservation groups who defended that the European beaver is a Iberian native with a fossil history of 1,4 million years and historical references in Spain until around 1583. After consulting with the European Union, the removal plans were terminated. By 2020, beavers had colonized the Ebro in La Rioja, Navarre, and Zaragoza; the Zadorra river up to Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Arga up to Pamplona, the Huerva up to Mezalocha, and the Jalón into the province of Soria. In November 2021, a young beaver was photographed for the first time outside of the Ebro basin, in the upper Duero in Soria. In France, the Eurasian beaver was almost extirpated by the late 19th century, with only a small population of about 100 individuals surviving in the lower Rhône valley. Following protection measures in 1968 and 26 reintroduction projects, it re-colonized the Rhône river and other river systems in the country such as Loire, Saône, Moselle, Tarn and Seine rivers. In 2011, the French beaver population was estimated at 14,000 individuals living along watercourses. In Germany, around 200 Eurasian beavers survived by the end of the 19th century in the Elbe river system in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. By 2019, beavers numbered above 40,000 across Germany, even appearing in many urban areas. The largest beaver population lives in eastern Germany with about 6,000 individuals descended from Elbe beavers, and in Bavaria along the Danube and its tributaries. After a resettlement programme started in 1966, around 14,000 individuals are estimated in Bavaria. In Switzerland, the Eurasian beaver was extirpated in the early 19th century due to hunting for its fur, meat and castoreum. Between 1956 and 1977, 141 individuals were reintroduced to 30 sites in the Rhone and Rhine catchment areas. They originated in France, Russia and Norway. As of 2019, an estimated 3,500 beavers were living in Switzerland (a sharp increase from 1,600 beavers in 2008), with permanent beaver presence along most larger rivers of the Swiss plateau and the Swiss Alps (with the exception of Ticino). Beavers were reintroduced in the Netherlands in 1988 after being completely exterminated in the 19th century. After its reintroduction in the Biesbosch, the Dutch population has spread considerably (supported by additional reintroductions), and can now be found in the Biesbosch and surrounding