Overview
- Ernie Dosio, a Lodi, California vineyard owner, died on April 17 after a herd of five female forest elephants with a calf charged during a licensed yellow‑backed duiker hunt in Gabon’s Lope‑Okanda rainforest, and his professional guide was seriously injured.
- Safari operator Collect Africa confirmed the fatal encounter and said the guide survived with injuries, while the U.S. Embassy in Gabon is assisting with repatriation of Dosio’s body to California.
- Reports say duiker hunts in that area require strict local licensing that can bar clients from bringing their own guns, so the company supplied Dosio with a shotgun intended for small game.
- Family members say early notifications were confusing and that details and photos in the press do not match what they were first told, and there have been no public investigative findings reported.
- Conservation groups note Gabon holds a large share of the world’s remaining forest elephants in dense rainforest where close‑range surprises are common, a risk that is fueling renewed scrutiny of trophy‑hunting safety.