The grieving family of a millionaire big-game hunter trampled to death by elephants in Africa has revealed the shocking and chaotic way they learned he had died. The Dosio family told the Daily Mail they were only informed of beloved patriarch Ernie Dosio's death after their lawyers were notified.
Dosio, 75, a wealthy California vineyard owner and veteran hunter, was killed on April 17 after he was charged and crushed by a herd of elephants deep in the rainforest of Gabon. His passion for hunting has since come under intense scrutiny, with some online figures, including comedian Ricky Gervais, rejoicing in his death.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, one of Ernie's sons, Jeff Dosio, said the story of his final moments has been 'twisted' and suggested there was more to the encounter. 'It hasn't been fun. It hasn't been fun at all,' he said on Friday night. 'Whoever got all these pictures of our trophy room. I don't know how that came about at all. I want to set the record straight with my sincerity at the bottom of it and my statement.'
Ernie's ex-wife, Rinda Butler Dosio, also described the confusion that gripped the family in the crucial early hours after the fatal encounter and alleged another man had also been killed, although reports from the tour company state he was injured. 'There's so many different things that are going around. Everything gets kind of exaggerated,' she said. 'The day it happened we heard it was buffalos - and different crazy things. The lawyers got called before the family. There's just some things that just don't make sense. It's a huge shock. He was a big-time hunter and it shouldn't have happened. He and another man was killed.'
Her remarks underscore the chaos that surrounded the initial reports, as details trickled out from the remote hunting grounds of central Africa. According to officials and hunting company statements, Dosio had been on a $40,000 guided expedition in the Lopé-Okanda rainforest, tracking a rare yellow-backed duiker, a shy forest antelope. He was accompanied by a professional hunter when the pair unexpectedly encountered a group of five female forest elephants with a calf.
Hidden by dense vegetation, the elephants appeared 'as if from nowhere,' according to a retired game hunter familiar with the incident. Feeling threatened, the herd charged immediately. The professional hunter was struck first, seriously injured and separated from his rifle. That left Dosio, armed only with a shotgun intended for smaller game, exposed in the thick undergrowth. He was knocked down and trampled underfoot. 'I would rather not go into detail, but it is safe to assume it would have been quick,' the hunter said.
The safari company, Collect Africa, confirmed in a statement that a client had been killed during the encounter and that the professional hunter had been injured. The setting of his final hunt remains one of the most unforgiving environments on earth. Known as 'Africa's last Eden,' the country is covered by dense forest and is home to an estimated 60 percent of the world's remaining forest elephants - powerful, elusive animals capable of charging at speeds of up to 25 mph.
The US Embassy in Gabon is now overseeing the repatriation of Dosio's body back to California. The brutal irony of the death has not gone unnoticed. Dosio had spent decades hunting across Africa and the United States, pursuing some of the world's most dangerous animals - including elephants, lions, rhinos, and buffalo. Back home, his trophy rooms displayed dozens of mounted animals, from exotic African species to North American deer and wildfowl.
Yet those who knew him insist his hunting was legal and tied to conservation efforts. 'All Ernie's hunts were strictly licensed and above board and were registered as conservation in culling animal numbers,' said one retired hunter. The circumstances of his death have sparked fierce debate online. Comedian Ricky Gervais drew backlash after posting a joke about his death on X: 'The best thing is, they'll never forget it.' The remark was quickly condemned by critics. 'You should delete this Ricky. It displays your abject ignorance at wildlife conservation and is frankly ghoulish ffs,' one user responded. Another wrote: 'The uninformed morons cheering on this conservationist's death are the same people who celebrate assassinations of people who have differing opinions than their own. Truly disgusting individuals. Educate yourselves on how big-game hunting works. They're controlling populations.'
Those closest to Dosio paint a far more personal picture of the man behind the headlines. A father of two, he built a successful agricultural empire as owner of Pacific AgriLands, managing a 12,000-acre vineyard operation in Modesto and supporting a region responsible for roughly 40 percent of California's wine production. His son Jeff now serves as president of the company, while his other son, Blake, is also involved in the business. Dosio was also deeply embedded in his local community. He served as a board member of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, a life member of California Wildfowl, and a prominent figure in the Sacramento Safari Club. For decades, he held the title of Great Elk in the California Central District Elks, a nationwide charitable organization.
'It is with a most heavy heart and sadness that I am reporting the passing of Ernie Dosio,' Lodi Lodge secretary Tommy Whitman wrote in a Facebook tribute. 'May all of our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones.' Whitman later added: 'Ernie always had his hand in his pocket and would help out those who needed it. He would never want recognition but he was always there with a loving heart.' Friends described him as 'larger than life,' yet grounded, a man who preferred farming and hunting to luxury, despite his wealth. The Daily Mail has contacted the State Department for comment.
