US millionaire big-game hunter dies after being crushed by elephants, Ernie Dosio, a 75-year-old vineyard owner, was hunting an antelope species in Africa when the incident occured by Marina Dunbar, 24 Apr 2026, The Guardian
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 the central African country of Gabon when the incident occurred last Friday. While in the Lope-Okanda rainforest, he and his guide unexpectedly
What? It’s never unexpected. When hunting big game, if a decent hunter, one knows to always be on alert for death ahead 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 animals such as elephants and lions. Fucking monstrous bastard! He was reportedly a familiar name within the Sacramento Safari Club.
According to the Daily Mail, safari operator Collect Africa confirmed the death of its client. The company also reported that the professional hunter guiding Dosio sustained serious injuries during the encounter.
Reflecting on Dosio’s life, a retired hunter who knew him shared with the 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.”Reflecting on Dosio’s life, a retired hunter who knew him shared with the 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.”It’s still fucking wrong, cruel and evil. Why is media glorifying the fucker?
The same source, based in Cape Town, described the incident as the elephants being “surprised” by Dosio and his guide’s presence.FFS! More likely stressed by two humans invading on their territory, with killing machines, notably with the elephants protecting a calf. Elephants are highly intelligent and never forget, unlike our thuggery raping mass murdering shit of a callous heavily religious species.
Dosio was the owner of Pacific AgriLands Inc, a company managing 12,000 acres of vineyard land in Modesto, as well as offering services and equipment financing to wine producers. Officials from the US embassy in Gabon are now coordinating the return of his remains to California, the Mail reported.
Gabon’s forests are known to shelter approximately 95,000 forest elephants, most of the species’ global population, which are considered highly endangered.
Every year, clients of the trophy-hunting industry claim the lives of tens of thousands of wild animals across the world. Legal hunting tours in Africa are popular with some wealthy Americans, including Donald Trump Jr, who was pictured holding a severed elephant’s tail more than a decade ago.
International trophy hunting is a multimillion-dollar industry. In South Africa, estimates for the industry’s worth range from $100m in 2005, to $68m in 2012, and $120m in 2015, according to the EMS Foundation.skip past newsletter promotion
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 worked to promote the economic benefits of big game hunting.Evil Cruel Fuckers. There’s no hell deep enough for them.
Last year, another American game hunter was killed by a buffalo he was stalking during a hunting expedition in South Africa.
@lesjfrie.bsky.social:
Amboseli elephant researcher Cynthia Moss, whose home was a tent adjacent to wild herds, characterized trophy hunting “about as sporting as shooting your neighbor’s poodle”.
www.smith.edu/news-events/…
Elephants Trample Millionaire in Big Game Hunt Gone Wrong, He had hunted elephants in the past. by Harry Thompson, Apr. 24 2026, Daily Beast
A millionaire big game hunter has been trampled to death by a herd of elephants.
Vineyard tycoon Ernie Dosio, 75, was out shooting yellow-backed duiker, a species of antelope, in Gabon when he and his guide surprised five female elephants with a calf in the Lope-Okanda rainforest last Friday.
Dosio, from Lodi, California, had previously amassed a huge haul of trophies, from elephants to lions, and was a well-known figure at the Sacramento Safari Club.
Safari company Collect Africa confirmed that its client had been killed, according to The Daily Mail, and said that its professional hunter, who was guiding Dosio, was left severely injured in the attack.
Speaking about the father of two, an unnamed retired game hunter who knew Dosio told the Mail, “Ernie has been hunting since he could hold a rifle and has many trophies from Africa and the U.S..
“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.
“Ernie had booked a hunt for dwarf forest buffalo and duikers, in particular the yellow-backed duiker, and, under strict licensing laws, he could not take along his own guns.
“The hunting company would supply a shotgun and cartridges for the duiker hunt.
“Whilst in the forest, Ernie and his PH [professional hunter] surprised five forest elephant cows with a calf. Feeling under threat, the elephants immediately attacked them.”
The Cape Town-based retired hunter added, “I would rather not go into detail, but it is safe to assume it would have been quick. Ernie was a very well-known and popular hunter in the U.S. and in Africa, and a very keen conservationist, and he did a hell of a lot of charity work and was a really good guy.It’s impossible to hunt for ego, trophy, fun and or keenly pretend conservation and be a “good” guy, never mind a “really good” guy.
“What happened has been deeply felt by many each side of the Atlantic.”
Gabon’s dense forests are home to around 95,000 highly-endangered forest elephants, according to the WWF, which make up around 60 percent of the world’s remaining population.
Dosio lived with his partner, Betty, in their four-bedroom home and was a Great Elk in the California Central District Elks, a patriotic organization that supports various causes, including veterans’ groups.
He owned Pacific AgriLands Inc, which has 12,000 acres of wine-growing terrain in Modesto and provides management services and equipment loans to wine farms.
The U.S. embassy in Gabon is arranging the return of Dosio’s remains to California.
In a statement, Tommy Whitman, the secretary of California-based Lodi Lodge, said, according to the Mail, “It is with a most heavy heart and sadness that I am reporting the passing of Ernio Dosio.
“May all of our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. Ernie was Great Elk for 30 years and a pillar in our community who will be sorely missed.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Collect Africa for more information.
@amirattaran.bsky.social:
The delicious irony of a California Republican killed by elephants.
@triplezero.bsky.social:
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE ELEPHANTS!
***
Ernie Dosio (Photo Credits: X/@AldoSterone111)
Dennis Bay:
Too bad no video. Stop glorifying these people. They certainly do considerable harm. No tears at his funeral
Wes Sheppard:
When you see someone like that proudly showing off a dead lion you’ve got to believe that the elephants did everyone a favour.
There’s a big difference between hunting to live and hunting to put up a wall decoration.
5 1/2:
I love elephants even more…
Mike Bell:
Congratulations to the elephants. Sweet justice
Peter Petriw:
The Elephants Strike Back
Brock Dieter:
This is what should happen every time one messes with a mother and her child.
Meri Lewis:
Give those pachyderms a Medal.
Dick Corner:
Good to see the animals win once in a while.
Wayne Harris:
too bad that didn’t happen to Trump’s sons when they shot an elephant & long-horn sheep for their trophy case. They also got a ‘special permit’ to shoot a Polar Bear but a backlash stopped them
@parkrrrr.bsky.social:
Sounds like the big game hunt went completely right, to me.