Bobby Hansen Hunting Safaris/FacebookErnie Dosio poses with a dead elephant in Botswana in April 2013.

A Californian big game hunter was killed by an elephant in the Central African country of Gabon. Ernie Dosio was hunting antelope in the Lopé-Okanda rainforest when his group accidentally came upon five female elephants with a calf.

Dosio, who had an extensive "trophy" collection from previous hunts, was fatally injured by an elephant, and a professional guide accompanying him was seriously injured. While Dosio's loved ones mourn his death, the incident has reignited debates about the ethics of sport hunting.

How Ernie Dosio Died During His Hunting Trip in Gabon

On April 17, 2026, Ernie Dosio set out on a hunting trip in Gabon's rainforest with the hunting company Collect Africa, which introduced itself as "Your Species Collecting Concierge."

Bobby Hansen SafarisErnie Dosio had hunted everything from lions to hippos to crocodiles.

Big game hunting was not new to Dosio. According to The Times, a Cape Town hunter who knew Dosio said, "Ernie has been hunting since he could hold a rifle, and he has many trophies from Africa and the U.S." Dax McCarty, the owner of a hunting company in Wyoming and a close friend, told The New York Times that Dosio "knew the risks."

At the time of his death, Dosio was 75 years old and was tracking yellow-backed duikers, a type of antelope found in Central and West Africa. He was with two professional hunting guides, but while walking in the forest, they encountered five female elephants and a calf.

Although African forest elephants are smaller than their savanna relatives, females can still grow up to eight feet tall and weigh more than four tons—and they are extremely protective of their young.

Lucy Keith-Diagne/Wikimedia CommonsA group of African forest elephants in Gabon in 2007.

Even if the hunters had retreated 150 yards, the elephants attacked. One charged at a guide while the other turned toward Dosio. According to The New York Times, the female elephant injured Dosio and quickly killed him.

"He went doing something he loved," McCarty said. However, Dosio's loved ones described him as "an eager conservationist," a generous man who always helped those in need, and "a humble man who worked hard for what he had," while his hobby has long been the target of international criticism.

Debates on Big Game Trophy Hunting in Africa

Debates over the ethics of big game hunting have been ongoing for years. While the sport supports the economies of some African countries through tourism revenue—Dosio reportedly paid $40,000 for his last trip—it also provides job opportunities for local people, but conservationists are concerned about its impact on vulnerable species.

The "Big Five" species targeted by hunters—lions, elephants, leopards, rhinoceroses, and Cape buffalo—are facing population declines and habitat loss.

According to The Times, Ernie Dosio's South African friend explained, "While there are many people who do not participate in big game hunting, all of Ernie's hunts were completely licensed and legal and recorded as conservation to reduce animal numbers."

Bobby Hansen SafarisErnie Dosio had previously hunted several of Africa's Big Five, including lions.

Dosio had been photographed posing with animals he had killed over the years, including lions, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and countless others. His home in Lodi, California, was filled with many taxidermied creatures, from a lion standing on a rock to a rhinoceros head mounted on the wall.

A 2014 Bobby Hansen Safaris brochure included statements like, "Ernie came back this season to hunt lions and leopards with us again. He had a great lion and some great plains game, but Mr. Spots got away from us. We had males that didn’t return, and we saw a male during the day, but we’ll get you a leopard, Ernie."

Meanwhile, critics of big game hunting have pointed out its dangers. One thing is for sure, Dosio was not the first trophy hunter to be killed by an elephant during a trip in Africa in recent years. For instance, in 2017, an Argentine hunter was crushed to death by an elephant he attempted to shoot. That same year, a man in Zimbabwe died after being struck by an elephant shot by someone in his hunting party.

Bobby Hansen SafarisErnie Dosio poses with a crocodile in 2017.

Cape buffalo have also posed significant dangers to hunters. In 2018, a South African man was injured by a buffalo after shooting one from its herd. In 2025, a hunter from Texas faced a similar fate.

Some African countries, like Kenya, have banned all types of hunting, even for culling purposes. However, trophy or conservation hunting continues to be a significant part of the economies of other countries, making further deaths almost inevitable.

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