Safari gives predators new status

There is a growing interest in bird and wildlife watching in Sweden. Every year, a handful of organisers receive more and more customers from both Sweden and other countries.
"It is at least as exotic to sight a Swedish wolf or bear as it is a gorilla in Uganda," states Marcus Eldh at the eco-tourism company Skogens Konung in Skinnskatteberg.

We are talking seals in Haparanda, birds in Svartådalen, bears in Hälsingland and wolves in Bergslagen. Not to speak of moose and beavers, that can be found nearly everywhere. Wildlife sighting is an activity which is attracting more and more visitors.

Swedish nature and wildlife have achieved a high status with both Swedish companies and private persons as well as wildlife watchers from Great Britain, Australia, Japan and the US.

Thousands of visitors

Marcus Eldh is one of the pioneers in the business. He was inspired by what he had seen in Sumatra, Indonesia, where a whole village benefited from tourists wanting to come and look at orangutans. "We should be able to benefit from the interest in our wildlife too," he said to himself. In 2002, he started the Skogens Konung company, complete with a moose safari, and has since then expanded the programme with beaver watching and wolf howling.

He has guided thousands of visitors from 72 countries on wildlife watching tours in Bergslagen. Marcus Eldh collaborates with several foreign travel agencies and the visitors include both private persons and companies. On land that he leases from among others Sveaskog, he offers his guests moose, beaver and wolf watching.
"Bergslagen is a good region for my business," he notes. "There is plenty of wildlife here, and it is close to the airport and to Stockholm."

Howling wolves an attraction

Between May and September is the peak season for wildlife watching, but Marcus Eldh also arranges tours between January and March to track, scout and listen to howling wolves. He can not guarantee that the customers will see or hear any animals, but during the eight years that he has arranged moose safaris, his visitors have been able to sight moose every single time. Howling wolves and swimming beavers have also been fairly safe bets.

"But I recall a Japanese visitor who was perfectly content with just sitting in a row boat on a lake with dark, still waters, surrounded by forest and silence," says Marcus Eldh, who is convinced that we will see an increase in events that include wildlife watching.

Håkan Vargas, who runs Vargas Vildmarkslodge in southern Hälsingland, agrees with this. So does Daniel Green, who through the company Birdsafarisweden offers bird watching in Sweden primarily to English-speaking customers.

"The number of bookings is increasing all the time", says Håkan Vargas. I guess everyone wants to have seen a bear in its natural habitat sometime. Every year, Daniel Green receives some twenty groups of bird enthusiasts. Owls and woodpeckers in Färna Ekopark are big attractions. During the summers, he offers butterfly watching.

"I am actually surprised that more people have not understood the commercial potential of wildlife watching," he says.