Elephant Herd Tramples California Millionaire During Gabon Hunting Trip

A prominent California vineyard owner, Ernie Dosio, was trampled to death by a herd of forest elephants on Friday, April 17, 2026, while on a guided hunting expedition in the Lope-Okanda rainforest of Gabon.

The 75-year-old millionaire from Lodi was accompanied by a professional guide when the pair accidentally encountered five female elephants and a calf in dense undergrowth. The safari company, Collect Africa, confirmed the fatality and reported that the guide sustained severe injuries during the encounter.

According to reports from The Daily Mail and GB News, the incident occurred while Dosio was using a shotgun to hunt for yellow-backed duiker, a small species of forest antelope. Because of local licensing regulations, the hunters were not carrying high-powered rifles suitable for larger animals when the elephants charged.

The elephants reportedly appeared suddenly from the thick vegetation, flinging the professional hunter aside and causing him to lose his firearm. Dosio, left with only a shotgun, was then overtaken by the herd. The U.S. Embassy in Gabon is currently coordinating the repatriation of his remains to California.

“Ernie has been hunting since he could hold a rifle and has many trophies from Africa and the U.S.,” said an unnamed retired game hunter in a statement provided to the Mail. “Ernie was a very well-known and popular hunter in the U.S. and in Africa, and a very keen conservationist.”

Dosio was the owner of Pacific AgriLands Inc., a company managing 12,000 acres of wine-growing land in Modesto, California. He was also a long-standing member of the Sacramento Safari Club and held the title of Great Elk within the California Central District Elks for three decades.

Gabon is home to approximately 95,000 forest elephants, representing about 60 percent of the world’s remaining population of the endangered species. Tommy Whitman, secretary of the Lodi Lodge, stated that Dosio was a pillar of the community who would be deeply missed by his family and peers.