Millionaire hunter who's killed countless wild animals trampled to death by 5 elephants
The hunter had displayed dozens of animal heads as trophies at his vineyard in California.
A millionaire game hunter was trampled to death by a herd of elephants while on a private shoot in Africa. Californian vineyard owner Ernie Dosio, who has killed dozens of animals including lions and rhinos, was attacked by five female elephants who were protecting a calf.
The 75-year-old had stumbled upon the herd while on a £30,000 private hunt in the Lope-Okanda forest of Gabon, where he had hoped to shoot the rare yellow-backed duiker. Startled, the five elephants immediately charged Mr Dosio and his professional hunter, who was guiding him.
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The hunter’s high-powered rifle was flung aside, and he was seriously injured, leaving the 75-year-old with just his shotgun. Mr Dosio was then brutally trampled underfoot.
The elephants were apparently so well hidden in the dense undergrowth they appeared “as if from nowhere”, according to a family friend. They described Mr Dosio as “just a farmer and good old country boy who loved to hunt and fish”.
He had hunted a huge range of exotic animals over the decades, including elephant, rhino, bear, buffalo, lion, crocodile, zebra and leopards.
Their heads were reportedly displayed as trophies at his 12,000 acre vineyard in California, where he had hosted charity events and run his Pacific AgriLands business, which manages local wine farms.
Mr Dosio had also mounted almost every species of USA buck on the walls, including elk, moose and reindeer, along with wildfowl such as turkeys and geese.
A retired game hunter in Cape Town, who knows Mr Dosio, said that while many disagree with game hunting, all of his hunts had been strictly licensed, above board, and were registered as conservation in culling animal numbers.
“Ernie was a very well-known and popular hunter in the US 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," he said.
He explained that Mr Dosio 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, hence why he had a shotgun.
“I would rather not go into detail, but it is safe to assume it would have been quick,” the hunter said.
Mr Dosio's body is being repatriated by the US Embassy in Gabon to Lodi in California.
