A 75-year-old American billionaire from California has been killed after being trampled by a herd of elephants while on a hunting expedition in Gabon, Central Africa.
The victim, identified as Ernie Dosio, owner of Pacific AgriLands, was taking part in a licensed safari hunt in the Lope-Okanda rainforest when the fatal incident occurred on April 17.
Dosio, who managed a 12,000-acre vineyard in Modesto and provided equipment and financing services to wine producers, was reportedly pursuing a small antelope species when he encountered a herd of five female elephants accompanied by a calf.
According to reports, the elephants appeared to perceive a threat and charged at Dosio and his professional hunting guide.
Despite being armed with high-powered rifles, the guide was violently knocked down and seriously injured during the chaos, with his weapon reportedly lost in the attack.
Dosio, who was carrying only a shotgun at the time, was then targeted by the herd and fatally trampled.
The safari operator, Collect Africa, confirmed the death and said the US Embassy is assisting in arrangements to repatriate his body to California.
Friends of Dosio said he had been an experienced hunter since a young age and had taken part in multiple legal hunting trips, which he described as conservation-based wildlife management activities.
He was also known within hunting circles in Sacramento, where his home reportedly housed hundreds of animal trophies, including elephants, lions, rhinos, buffaloes, bears, crocodiles, zebras, leopards and deer.
Gabon is home to an estimated 95,000 forest elephants, a species considered critically endangered and one of the largest remaining populations in the world.
