{"id":1067,"date":"2026-04-24T21:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T21:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=1067"},"modified":"2026-04-24T21:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T21:50:00","slug":"billionaire-american-big-game-hunter-dies-after-being-trampled-by-five-elephants-while-hunting-for-his-next-prey-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=1067","title":{"rendered":"Billionaire American big game hunter dies after being trampled by five elephants while hunting for his next prey in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>CAPE TOWN, South Africa \u2014 A prominent billionaire trophy hunter who owned a California winery was trampled to death by five raging elephants as he tried to take down Africa&#8217;s next big thing. <\/p>\n<p>Ernie Dosio, 75, described by his loved ones as a &#8220;good old country boy&#8221; who loves the outdoors, was chased last Friday during a $40,000 hunt for yellow duiker with a professional guide in Gabon&#8217;s dense rainforest. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile in the woods, Ernie and his [guide] We surprised five forest elephant cows with calves. &#8220;The elephants felt threatened and immediately attacked them,&#8221; a former hunter who was friends with Dosio told the Post.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Avid big game hunter Ernie Dosio spent more than a decade shooting elephants in Botswana before being trampled to death by a herd of endangered animals last week.  <span class=\"credit\">bobby hansen hunting safari<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The pair&#8217;s view of the majestic mammals was blocked by a thick forest wall, and they were unable to see the beasts advance until it was too late, the friend said.<\/p>\n<p>The elephant appeared to &#8220;come out of nowhere,&#8221; then threw the professional hunter aside and knocked Doshio, who was only armed with a shotgun, into the ground, an acquaintance said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to go into details, but it&#8217;s safe to say we were able to respond quickly.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the man, who met Dosio through Cape Town&#8217;s hunting community, said the guide lost his hunting rifle and was seriously injured in the attack.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ernie has been hunting since he could hold a rifle and has many trophies from Africa and the United States,&#8221; he said, adding that the &#8220;very well-known and popular&#8221; victim&#8217;s big game hunts were always &#8220;under strict sanctioning and conducted above and beyond standards.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Dosio, who owned a vineyard in California, also shot a lion as a trophy before his death at the age of 75.  <span class=\"credit\">bobbyhansensafaris.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Dosio, who owned the Pacific Agrilands winery in Modesto, Calif., had a trophy room filled with the heads of elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo, alligators, zebras, leopards and other animals.<\/p>\n<p>Friends said the married father of two belonged to hunting and safari clubs in the Sunshine State and had a productive life outside of big game.<\/p>\n<p>He was \u201ca very passionate conservationist, he did a lot of charity work, and he was a really good person.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What happened is deeply felt by many on both sides of the Atlantic,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p>Dosio&#8217;s body will be repatriated by the U.S. Embassy in Gabon to Lodi, California, where he lived with his wife of many years, Betty, in a wine region about 30 miles south of Sacramento. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Dosio&#8217;s home had a vast collection of animal heads, including elephants, rhinos, lions, buffaloes, crocodiles, zebras, and leopards.  <span class=\"credit\">Provided by Jamie Pyatt News Co.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He left behind two sons, Jeff and Blake, who followed in their father&#8217;s footsteps into the vineyard business. <\/p>\n<p>Tommy Whitman, secretary of the Lodi Elks Lodge fraternity chapter in San Joaquin, Calif., said Dosio was &#8220;our absent member&#8221; and &#8220;will be sorely missed&#8221; and highlighted his philanthropy to the California Central District Elks movement in a moving memorial on Facebook. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ernie always had his hands in his pockets to help those in need, whether they were veterans, people with disabilities, or children in need,&#8221; Whitman wrote. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He never wanted recognition, but was always there with a loving heart&#8230;Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones,&#8221; the memorial said. <\/p>\n<p>Dosio held monthly charity events at the Elks Lodge, and attendees included judges, local vineyard managers and &#8220;some notable figures from industry and commerce,&#8221; a family friend said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The late businessman was &#8220;a very passionate conservationist, did a great deal of charity work, and was a really good person,&#8221; his friend the Post said.  <span class=\"credit\">wagonhoundoutfitters.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Ernie, with his big mustache, was larger than life, but although he had money, he never showed it off&#8230;He was just a farmer and a good old country boy who loved hunting and fishing,&#8221; a relative said. <\/p>\n<p>Gabon is home to about two-thirds of the world&#8217;s remaining elephant population, with an estimated 95,000 forest elephants.<\/p>\n<p>Asher Watkins, 52, an American billionaire and big game hunter, was brutally killed by a buffalo he and his guide were chasing in South Africa&#8217;s Limpopo province in August last year. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#Billionaire #American #big #game #hunter #dies #trampled #elephants #hunting #prey #Africa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CAPE TOWN, South Africa \u2014 A prominent billionaire trophy hunter who owned a California winery was trampled to death by five raging elephants as he tried to take down Africa&#8217;s next big thing. Ernie Dosio, 75, described by his loved ones as a &#8220;good old country boy&#8221; who loves the outdoors, was chased last Friday &#8230; <a title=\"Billionaire American big game hunter dies after being trampled by five elephants while hunting for his next prey in Africa\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/?p=1067\" aria-label=\"Read more about Billionaire American big game hunter dies after being trampled by five elephants while hunting for his next prey in Africa\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1537,2357,589,1700,2651,725,2652,2654,1105,151,2650,1057,1414,2012,2653,2649,481],"class_list":["post-1067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-africa","tag-american","tag-animal","tag-big","tag-billionaire","tag-california","tag-dies","tag-elephants","tag-endangered-species","tag-game","tag-gun","tag-hunter","tag-hunting","tag-prey","tag-trampled","tag-unusual-accident","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hyokal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}