Björn Welander

Björn Gunnar Welander , wildlife film maker, and photographer in United States

Welander was born * 1960-04-15 in Vallentuna Sweden .

Björn Welander was born in Vallentuna outside Stockholm in Sweden, studied Ecology at Stockholm UNiversity, and conducted several restoration's of wetlands in Sweden, notably the renovation of the sweet water lake Angarnsjön in Vallentuna outside Stockholm.

In April 6th 1990, together with Journalist Carina Gerken Christiansen, and Zookeepers Leif Wicksell and Maria Gustafsson, he founded the organization Rädda Skansens Elefanter (english: Save the Skansen elephants) in order to save the two elephants Nika and Shiva at Stockholm Zoo (Skansen) from being exported to possible premature death, and he became the organizations chairman.

In spite of the efforts of the organization Rädda Skansens Elefanter, the Zoo realized their decision and Nika and Shiva was send to England. Skansen gave their last elephants Nika and Shiva for free to Cricket St. Thomas wildlife Park in Somerset, UK, with the condition that Cricket paid and organized the transport. 21 year old Shiva died after a year, Nika after two years in Spain, where she was shipped after Cricket Zoo was prohibited to keep elephants.

Welander moved to Malta in the nineties, and is since some years residing as US citizen in Venice, Florida, USA.

References

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