California Millionaire Trampled to Death by Elephants on Gabon Hunt

A California man was killed by a herd of elephants while hunting antelope in Africa.

According to The Guardian and Daily Mail on Monday, Ernie Dosio, 75, who operated vineyards and a financial company in California, paid approximately $40,000 (about 59 million won) to travel to Gabon in Central Africa with a professional hunter to hunt the yellow-backed duiker, a species of antelope.

The incident occurred on the 17th in the Lopé-Okanda tropical rainforest. Dosio’s party, searching for game, encountered five female elephants accompanied by their calves. Startled by the humans, the elephants immediately charged, leading to the tragedy.

The accompanying professional hunter was thrown by an elephant and seriously injured but survived, while Dosio was trampled to death at the scene.

Gabon, with approximately 88% of its land covered by forest, is known as “Africa’s Last Eden.” It is a major habitat for about 95,000 endangered forest elephants, accounting for a significant portion of the global population.

Dosio was known as a longtime trophy hunting enthusiast. He reportedly owned a private banquet hall displaying hundreds of taxidermied animals including elephants, rhinoceroses, bears, buffaloes, lions, crocodiles, zebras and leopards, and had hunted most large North American deer species including elk and moose.

A native of Lodi, California, he was also the owner of Pacific Agrilands, which manages approximately 12,000 acres of vineyards. The U.S. Embassy is currently working with Gabonese authorities to repatriate his remains.

A fellow hunter who knew Dosio said, “He had been hunting since he was old enough to hold a gun and had numerous trophies from Africa and America.” He added, “Although there is controversy over big-game hunting, all of his hunts were conducted with legal permits and also served conservation purposes for population control.”

Meanwhile, controversy surrounding trophy hunting continues. Tens of thousands of wild animals are sacrificed each year worldwide through the trophy hunting industry. Legal hunting tours in Africa have gained popularity among some wealthy individuals.

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of U.S. President Donald Trump, drew controversy more than a decade ago over a photograph showing him holding a severed elephant tail. During Trump’s first term, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced it would allow the import of some elephant trophies hunted by U.S. citizens in Zambia and Zimbabwe, arguing that hunting was the only way to preserve endangered animals. However, facing fierce opposition from wildlife conservationists, President Trump backed down, describing trophy hunting as a “horror show” on Twitter.