Armed with a shotgun and tracking a rare species of antelope, Ernie Dosio, 75, was killed after stumbling across the animals in dense vegetation in Gabon.
The carcass collector had been moving through thick undergrowth with a professional hunter when the pair unknowingly walked into the herd.
The animals were said to be so well hidden that it was like they appeared “as if from nowhere”.
The startled beasts then charged at the pair without warning.
Dosio was horrifically trampled under the weight of the herd as his companion was hurled to the side.
“The professional hunter was attacked first and seriously injured losing his rifle which was knocked from him and lost in the undergrowth leaving Ernie with his shotgun.
“I would rather not go into details but it is safe to assume it would have been quick.”
Safari company Collect Africa confirmed their client died on April 18 after encountering the herd in central Gabon.
Gabon is home to around 60 per cent of the world’s remaining forest elephants, with roughly 50,000 living deep within its dense forests.
African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, weighing up to four tonnes and reaching speeds of up to 25mph.
At the time of his death, Dosio was hunting a rare species of antelope and hoped to add the yellow-backed duiker to his extensive trophy collection.
Tributes have since poured in for the father-of-two vineyard owner.
The same retired hunter said: “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.”
Lodi Lodge secretary Tommy Whitman said in a statement: “It is with a most heavy heart and sadness that I am reporting the passing of Ernie Dosio.
“May all of our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones.
“Ernie always had his hand in his pocket and would help out those who needed it be it war veterans or handicapped or underprivileged kids.
“He would never want recognition but he was always there with a loving heart.
“He will be really missed around here and was one of the real good guys.”
A family friend said: “Ernie with his big moustache was larger than life but did not show it off.
“He was just a farmer and good old country boy who loved to hunt and fish. There’s not many in the US today who would have a trophy collection to match Ernie’s.
“The news of his death in Africa was like a bomb going off.”
Over the decades, Dosio had hunted some of the world’s most dangerous animals, including elephants, lions and buffalo.
Back home, he was also known for pursuing nearly every species of wild deer as part of his collection.
This is not the first time a millionaire big game hunter has been killed.
In August last year, Asher Watkins was brutally gored to death by a buffalo he was stalking with a guide in South Africa.
The Cape Buffalo – known to hunters as Black Death – charged him from a blind spot, impaling him on one of its horns.
The professional hunter desperately fought to save him but the area they were in was so remote he bled to death before help could arrive.
“He was beyond help except to load his body into the ambulance. He had horrific injuries to his stomach and to his ribs,” paramedics said.
“He was beyond help except to load his body into the ambulance. He had horrific injuries to his stomach and to his ribs.
“It was big buffalo and anything standing in the way of a charge would not survive. If left alone they are pretty tolerant but if you upset them it will not end well.
Watkins was also a conservationist who believed hunting was a vital part of the preserving wildlife.
In July last year, there was worldwide anger when a much-loved lion called Blondie was lured way from its reserve and shot dead by a trophy hunter.
Delvy Workman, 48, was named and shamed as the man who pulled the trigger in Zimbabwe.
The assassin posted a photograph of himself kneeling next the carcass with the caption: “If I killed a lion it would be my cover photo.”
Workman also posted pictures of himself posing next to kills during a hunting trip to Zimbabwe, including lions and zebras.
American Walter Palmer reportedly paid a whopping £50,000 to shoot and kill the animal.
This article by Will Miller and Jamie Pyatt was first published by The Irish Sun on 24 April 2026.
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