An American millionaire big-game hunter, Ernie Dosi, has died after being crushed by a group of elephants during a hunting expedition in Gabon.
According to The Guardian, the 75-year-old vineyard owner, was hunting yellow-backed duiker, an antelope species, in the central African country of Gabon when the incident occurred.
While in the Lope-Okanda rainforest, he and his guide unexpectedly came across five female elephants accompanied by a calf.
Safari operator Collect Africa confirmed the death of its client, The Daily Mail reported.
The company also reported that the professional hunter guiding Dosio sustained serious injuries during the encounter.
Reflecting on Dosio’s life, a retired hunter who knew him said, “Ernie has been hunting since he could hold a rifle and has many trophies from Africa and the US. 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.”
The same source, based in Cape Town, described the incident as the elephants being “surprised” by Dosio and his guide’s presence.
Dosio was the owner of Pacific AgriLands Inc, a company managing 12,000 acres of vineyard land in Modesto, as well as offering services and equipment financing to wine producers.
Dosio had built an extensive collection of hunting trophies over the years, including animals such as elephants and lions. He was reportedly a familiar name within the Sacramento Safari Club.
Officials from the US embassy in Gabon are now coordinating the return of his remains to California.
Gabon’s forests are known to shelter approximately 95,000 forest elephants, most of the species’ global population, which are considered highly endangered.
