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.
“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.
