After decades of absence, griffon and cinereous vultures will soon return to Romania’s Southern Carpathian mountains. A major new reintroduction initiative will help restore these magnificent scavengers to the landscape, strengthening natural food webs, creating healthier ecosystems, and opening up new opportunities for local communities.

Five centuries after they were last recorded around Loch Ness, beavers are returning to Scotland’s most famous lake. Supported by a grant from Rewilding Europe’s European Wildlife Comeback Fund, their reintroduction will help restore freshwater habitats, boost biodiversity, and create healthier, more resilient landscapes for people and nature.

Freshwater pearl mussels are a vital part of healthy river ecosystems, filtering water and supporting other aquatic life. Supported by Rewilding Europe’s European Wildlife Comeback Fund, nearly 2,000 young mussels have now been released in England’s River Kent, offering fresh hope for the future of this endangered species.

Free-flowing rivers support wildlife and carry sediment and nutrients through the landscape — yet across Europe, thousands of dams prevent them from functioning as they should. Removing these barriers is one of the quickest and most effective ways to rewild a river, but every removal depends on careful preparation that can take months or even years.

From wildlife comeback and coexistence to marine restoration and nature-based tourism, rewilders across Europe face many of the same challenges and opportunities. The first European Rewilding Network Community Days saw practitioners from across the network come together to share expertise and strengthen efforts to bring back nature.

As biodiversity loss and climate change put growing pressure on Europe’s rivers and wetlands, bringing back beavers can help restore these ecosystems — creating space for wildlife, storing water and carbon, and reducing the impacts of floods and droughts. By joining the European Rewilding Network, Britain’s Beaver Trust will help accelerate the comeback of these vital ecosystem engineers.

Five years of practical action and community engagement have strengthened human-bear coexistence across the Central Apennine mountains of Italy. By helping local communities and Marsican bears share space and thrive together, this work has strengthened the foundations for the continued comeback of this iconic subspecies.

The Postcode Lottery in the Netherlands has renewed its long-standing partnership with Rewilding Europe for another five years, providing one million euros of flexible funding every year from 2027. This renewed commitment follows a comprehensive evaluation and reflects continued trust in our ability to deliver measurable results for nature and communities across Europe.

A captivating image of beavers thriving in the heart of a Polish city has scooped this year’s Rewilding Europe Award, a special category of the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The winning and commended photographs showcase wildlife comeback across Europe — and the growing possibilities for people and wild nature to share space.

Several thousand juvenile Atlantic sturgeon have been released into Poland’s Ina River, marking an important step forwards in the return of this iconic species across the Oder Delta. Their comeback is part of wider efforts to restore free-flowing rivers rich in fish and other wildlife — healthier, more resilient waterways that are essential for both nature and people.