Dan Koehl#Elephant Encyclopedia

File:Goesta Koehl Dan Koehl Skansen 1964.jpg Zoo, Stockholm (1964)]]

Dan Koehl was born 28 October 1959 in Stockholm, Sweden, the fifth child of parents Gösta Köhl (1916–1996), Swedish engineer and Margot Nordholm (1922–2006).

Koehl grew up in Mountain View, California, United States, and on Östermalm in Stockholm. He studied zookeeping at Enskede gårds gymnasium, besides higher education at Stockholm University and Calle Flygare Teaterskola. Koehl began his career in aquarium and zoo-shops, and as commissioned shepherd for the Royal Herd of Sheep at Gärdet in Stockholm. He carried out apprenticeship as elephant-keeper at Circus Scott in Stockholm under elephant trainer Banda Vidane, as mahout in Sri Lanka and India, and in traditional German elephant management at Hanover Zoo and Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg, Germany, by elephant chief trainer Karl Kock.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/19900215-trichur-springs-to-life-with-majestic-elephants-in-their-caparisoned-glory-812372-1990-02-15|title=Trichur springs to life with majestic elephants in their caparisoned glory|first1=Ramesh |last1=Menon |orig-year=15 February 1990 |date=4 October 2013 |website=India Today}}Kanalen i Österåker och Vaxholm 3 October 2018Kanalen i Österåker och Vaxholm 18 October 2018 – http://www.e-magin.se/paper/c5xn5n9z/paper/18#/paper/c5xn5n9z/18 {{in lang|sv}}

File:Helmut Pechlaner Kurt Kolar Dan Koehl Vienna Zoo 1998.jpg and Curator Dr Kurt Kolar at Tiergarten Schönbrunn, Austria (1998)]]

File:Dan Koehl.jpg clothing at Cirkus Krone, Germany (2001)]]

File:King Carl XVI Gustaf of Swedens two elephants Saonoi and Bua, with elephant trainer Dan Koehl, Kolmarden, 2008.jpg by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, in Kolmården Wildlife Park (2008)]]

Since the late 1970s, Dan Koehl has served as head elephant keeper, stable master (equerry) and consultant at zoos, circuses and ranches around the world. European locations have included Skansen, Cirkus Scott, Hellabrunn Zoo (Munich), Borås Wildlife Park, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, Dresden Zoo, Zoolandia. Parco Natura Viva, Kolmården Wildlife Park, Circus Krone, Tiergarten Walding, Karlsruhe Zoo and Prague Zoo. While at Skansen, pending the departure of the stable's elephants "Nika" and "Shiva" to inferior living conditions abroad, he figured in a campaign that sparked nationwide debate over "Stockholm's beloved elephants". Despite described by Cynthia Moss in Elephant Memories as "among the best-cared-for and happiest I had ever seen in captivity", after much controversy, Skansen's elephants were shipped to Cricket Park, England, only to face premature death.{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/df4d666380dc3127a272ab34b7d5396d|title=Attendant On Hunger Strike In Zoo, Demands Better Conditions For Animals|website=AP NEWS}}Sotarna (2014) by Ian Wachtmeister, p. 115-119 {{cite news|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stockholm/vad-hande-med-elefanterna-pa-skansen|title=Skansen-elefanterna engagerade hela Sverige|first=Anders|last=Nordqvist|newspaper=SVT Nyheter|date=23 October 2015|via=svt.se}}

At Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna 1998, Koehl assisted Director Dr Helmut Pechlaner in elephants retraining and staff management when the zoo was induced to establish a new team of elephant keepers, facing a critical campaign concerning its keeping of elephants. Likewise he assisted Director Dr Herbert Lücker with elephant training and staff coaching in Dresden Zoo 1999, when the zoo was under criticism by members of animal rights organisations.{{cite web|url=https://www.elephant.se/elephant_consultance_references.php|title=Elephant Consultance references|website=elephant.se}}

At Kolmården Wildlife Park, Koehl was commissioned "royal head groom" for the management of the elephants "Boa" and "Saonoi" donated to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.{{cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/en-ny-elefant-kung/|title=En ny elefant-kung|website=Expressen}} Since the 1990s worldwide locations have included Elephant Experience and Sondelani Game Lodge in Zimbabwe, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka, and Airavata Elephant Foundation and the elephant Sanctuary Kulen Elephant Forest, both latter ones in Cambodia.{{cite web|url=https://www.zoopraha.cz/aktualne/pohledem-reditele/8736-peticipe-hvezdy-na-pozadi|title=Pěticípé hvězdy na pozadí|website=Zoo Praha}}{{cite web|url=https://www.airavata-cambodia.com/un-cambodge-sans-elephants/|title=Un Cambodge sans éléphants ? – Airavata Cambodia}}{{cite web|url=https://www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle-around-ngos/foundation-aiming-preserve-kingdoms-elephant-heritage|title=The foundation aiming to preserve the Kingdom's elephant heritage | Phnom Penh Post|first=Pann|last=Rethea|website=The Phnom Penh Post}}

Dan Koehl has contributed to various animals and wildlife care and preservation foundations related especially to elephants, including Asian elephant victims of war at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.{{cite web|url=https://walter-kilian.de/luckysama/projectluckysama.html|title=Project 'Lucky Sama' in Pinnawela, Sri Lanka: About the three legged elephant Sama|website=walter-kilian.de}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ljustero.se/content/elefant-p%C3%A5-ljuster%C3%B6-torg|title=Elefant på Ljusterö torg | LjusteröPortalen|website=ljustero.se|access-date=28 October 2019|archive-date=3 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603063400/http://www.ljustero.se/content/elefant-p%C3%A5-ljuster%C3%B6-torg|url-status=dead}} and has since early nineties been a contributing Professional member to the Elephant Managers Association,{{cite web|title=Elephant Managers Association 2019 Annual report|url=https://elephantmanagers.com/resources/Documents/Annual%20Reports/EMA.Annual.Report.2019.pdf|last=Koehl|first=Dan|publisher=Elephant Managers Association (EMA)|accessdate=23 July 2020}} as Deputy of the Executive Secretary for the European Elephant Keepers and Managers Association (EEKMA) 1998–2008, he co-worked out the Elephant management safety guidelines (2002).{{cite web|url=http://www.eekma.org/board.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204094852/http://www.eekma.org/board.php|archivedate=4 February 2008|title=EEKMA Board|date=4 February 2008}}{{cite conference|url=https://elephantconservation.org/iefImages/2017/11/2006_Copenhagen_symposium.pdf|title=INTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM|date=21 October 2006|location=Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=3 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603063350/https://elephantconservation.org/iefImages/2017/11/2006_Copenhagen_symposium.pdf|url-status=dead}} Koehl has served as board of director for Elefanten-Schutz Europa, as Chairperson for the Swedish organisation Defend the elephants{{cite web|title=Dan Koehl's Blog 2016|url=http://dankoehl.blogspot.com/2016/|last=Koehl|first=Dan|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730131756/http://dankoehl.blogspot.com/2016|archivedate=30 July 2016|accessdate=23 July 2020}} and the Swedish National Union of Aquaristic Societies (SARF),{{cite web|title=Sveriges Akvarieföreningars Riksförbund SARF|url=http://www.sarfakvarist.se|last=Koehl|first=Dan|publisher=Sveriges Akvarieföreningars Riksförbund (SARF)|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730131756/http://www.sarfakvarist.se/|archivedate=30 July 2016|accessdate=5 September 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.regeringen.se/4963ca/contentassets/3641df8152a34e38b70fbbd064957466/sveriges-akvarieforeningars-riksforbund.pdf|title=Remissvar: Underlag för genomförande av EU-förordning om invasiva främmande arter}} and as Web developer created websites for enterprises like Tropicarium Kolmården,{{cite web|title=Tropicarium Kolmarden|url=http://www.tropicarium.se|last=Koehl|first=Dan|publisher=Sveriges Akvarieföreningars Riksförbund (SARF)|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128084454/http://www.tropicarium.se/|archivedate=28 November 2015|accessdate=30 June 2020}} and ImageWare Austria.{{cite web|title=ImageWare Austria|url=http://www.tropicarium.se|publisher=ImageWare Austria GmbH|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904101901/http://www.imagewarescanner.com/|archivedate=4 September 2012|accessdate=23 July 2020}} Since 2023 he is advisor to leaders in elephant venue auditing, Asian Captive Elephant Standards (ACES), as part of a program coordinated by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association.{{cite web|url=https://www.elephantstandards.com/partners|title=ACES; Our partners|website=elephantstandards.com}}

Koehl has resided in Siem Reap, Cambodia since 2019, being responsible for care and management of elephants and mahouts as elephant trainer, manager, and welfare director at Kulen Elephant Forest.{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/dankoehl/|title=LinkedIn: Dan Koehl}}{{cite web|url=https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501186298/elephant-audit-gets-thumbs-up/|title=Elephant audit gets thumbs up; Khmer Times|first=Peter|last=Olszewski|website=khmertimes.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501114488/a-haven-for-retired-elephants/|title=A haven for retired elephants; Khmer Times|first=Taing |last=Rinith|website=khmertimes.com|date=18 July 2022 }}

He founded the Elephant Encyclopedia in 1995, one of the first online encyclopedias in the world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.elephant.se/|title=The elephant database|website=elephant.se}}

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• [https://www.elephant.se Elephant Encyclopedia and database]

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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Elephant trainers

Category:20th-century Swedish educators

Category:Living people

Category:People from Stockholm