A California millionaire and lifelong big game hunter was trampled to death by a herd of elephants who ambushed him while he was on a hunt deep in the rainforests of Gabon last week — killed by the very animals he had hunted in years past.
Ernie Dosio, 75, of California, was on a $38,000 licensed hunt for a rare, shy forest antelope called a yellow-backed duiker in central Gabon when the expedition turned deadly. Dosio and his guide stumbled into a group of five female forest elephants protecting a calf in the dense undergrowth of the rainforest they did not see. The herd suddenly charged and killed Dosio.
The elephants were so well hidden in the thick bush that they suddenly appeared, in the words of one source, “as if from nowhere.” The guide was attacked first and seriously injured, losing his high-powered rifle in the undergrowth. That left Dosio armed with only a shotgun as the herd charged and trampled him to death
“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,” a fellow hunter said. “The hunting company would supply a shotgun and cartridges for the duiker hunt. Under strict licensing laws, he could not take along his own guns.”
The hunter added that Dosio’s record was clean.
“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.”
Over his decades-long career, Dosio had hunted elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffalo, and lions across Africa, and had taken nearly every species of wild deer in the United States. He owned a vast collection of exotic animal heads displayed in trophy rooms at his home.
Dosio was also known as a community pillar.
“Ernie always had his hand in his pocket and would help out those who needed it, be it war veterans or handicapped or underprivileged kids,” said Tommy Whitman, secretary of the local Lodi Elks Lodge.
Dosio is survived by his wife Betty and two children. The U.S. Embassy in Gabon is arranging the return of his remains to California.