An American millionaire big‑game hunter has died after being crushed by a group of elephants during a hunting expedition in Gabon.
Ernie Dosio, a 75‑year‑old vineyard owner, was hunting yellow‑backed duiker, an antelope species, in Gabon when the incident occurred last Friday. While in the Lope‑Okanda rainforest he and his guide unexpectedly came across five female elephants accompanied by a calf.
Originally from Lodi, California, Dosio had built an extensive collection of hunting trophies over the years, including elephants and lions. He was reportedly a familiar name within the Sacramento Safari Club.
Safari operator Collect Africa confirmed the death of its client and said the professional hunter guiding Dosio sustained serious injuries in the encounter, according to the Daily Mail.
A retired hunter who knew Dosio told a UK outlet: “Ernie has been hunting since he could hold a rifle and has many trophies from Africa and the US. Although many disagree with big‑game hunting, all Ernie’s hunts were strictly licensed and above board and were registered as conservation in culling animal numbers.” The same source, based in Cape Town, said the elephants had been “surprised” by the presence of Dosio and his guide.
Dosio owned Pacific AgriLands Inc, which manages 12,000 acres of vineyard land in Modesto and offers services and equipment financing to wine producers. US embassy officials in Gabon are coordinating the return of his remains to California, the Mail reported.
Gabon’s forests are believed to shelter about 95,000 forest elephants, most of the species’ global population, which are considered highly endangered.
Every year, clients of the trophy‑hunting industry kill tens of thousands of wild animals worldwide. Legal hunting tours in Africa remain popular with some wealthy Americans, and the industry is a multimillion‑dollar business. Estimates for South Africa’s trophy‑hunting industry have ranged from $68m to $120m in different years, according to the EMS Foundation.
During his first presidential term, Donald Trump created a controversial wildlife advisory board to help rewrite federal rules for importing the heads and hides of African elephants, lions and rhinoceroses. The board was disbanded in 2020 after lawsuits alleging it was an illegal, biased panel stacked with trophy hunters rather than conservationists, who promoted the economic benefits of big‑game hunting.
Last year another American game hunter was killed by a buffalo he was stalking during a hunting expedition in South Africa.
