Story perspectives

75-Year-Old Hunter Killed by Elephants During Gabon Hunt

4/25/2026

Center

Ernie Dosio Trampled

Collect Africa’s £30,000 licensed expedition provided Ernie Dosio with a shotgun instead of his own firearms.
Ernie Dosio, 75, trampled by elephants hunting a yellow-backed duiker in Gabon on April 17, and his body returned to California.
A retired Cape Town hunter said the elephants were protecting a calf when they attacked.
Dosio displayed exotic animal heads, including elephant and lion trophies, in his Lodi home.

Left

Ernie Dosio Trampled

Social media mocked the death of wealthy hunter Ernie Dosio, framing elite big-game hunting as a colonial legacy.
Ernie Dosio, a 75-year-old U.S. millionaire, was trampled by five elephants in Gabon during a £30,000 licensed Collect Africa expedition.
The WWF reports wildlife populations fell 73 percent worldwide from 1970 to 2020, highlighting hunting stakes.
Critics say trophy-hunting is dominated by wealthy participants and fuels illegal ivory and horn trade.

Blindspot

Center coverage emphasized Dosio’s personal display of exotic animal heads and trophies in his Lodi home, a detail not mentioned in Left coverage.
Center coverage also included the retired Cape Town hunter’s explanation that the elephants were protecting a calf when they attacked, which Left coverage omitted.

History

Historical Context

After Theodore Roosevelt’s 1909-1910 Smithsonian-funded African expedition—backed by Andrew Carnegie and yielding roughly 11,400 animal specimens and about 500 large-game kills—the safari became a model of elite trophy hunting. A recent accident involving a wealthy American hunter on a Collect Africa Gabon trip has revived criticism of such privileged hunting practices.

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Ernie Dosio Trampled

Collect Africa’s £30,000 licensed expedition provided Ernie Dosio with a shotgun instead of his own firearms.
Ernie Dosio, 75, trampled by elephants hunting a yellow-backed duiker in Gabon on April 17, and his body returned to California.
A retired Cape Town hunter said the elephants were protecting a calf when they attacked.
Dosio displayed exotic animal heads, including elephant and lion trophies, in his Lodi home.

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