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Cooling off: Baby elephant drops and rolls in mud bath at zoo
Tula-Tu, a playful four-month-old Asian elephant at the Oregon Zoo, was recently captured on video enjoying a mud puddle near her mother, Rose-Tu, in early June. Since her birth in February, Tula-Tu has captivated many, with experts noting that her popularity could positively impact efforts to conserve Asian elephants in their natural habitats.
In a separate incident, a California vineyard owner tragically lost his life after being crushed by elephants during a hunting trip in Africa.
Ernie Dosio, aged 75, was on a hunt for yellow-backed duikers in Gabon when the fatal encounter occurred on April 17. While navigating through the Lope-Okanda rainforest, Dosio and his guide unexpectedly came across five female elephants accompanied by a calf, leading to the tragic accident, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The safari operator, Collect Africa, based in Nigeria, confirmed Dosio’s passing, as did the California-Hawaii Elks Association through a Facebook post.
Collect Africa, the Nigerian-based safari operator, confirmed Dosio’s death to the publication. The California-Hawaii Elks Association also confirmed Dosio’s death on Facebook.
Elephants stand at the edge of the forest at Pongara National Park near Libreville, Gabon. Ernie Dosio, a big-game hunter, reportedly died last week after he was crushed by elephants while hunting in Gabon. (Christophe Van Der Perre/Reuters)
“It is with a most heavy heart and sadness that I am reporting the passing of Ernie Dosio earlier this week,” Tommy Whitman, secretary of Lodi Lodge 1900 and Central District Scouting chairman, wrote in a statement. “May all of our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. He will be sorely missed.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Gabon and the safari company.
An unnamed hunter in Cape Town who knew Dosio told the news outlet that Dosio had been “hunting since he could hold a rifle and had many trophies from Africa and the U.S.”
Elephants are seen through thick vegetation in a forest at Pongara National Park near Libreville, Gabon. (Christophe Van Der Perre/Reuters)
“Although many disagree with big-game hunting, all of Ernie’s hunts were strictly licensed and above board and were registered as conservation culls to manage animal numbers,” he said. “Ernie had booked a hunt for dwarf forest buffalo and duikers — in particular, the yellow-backed duiker — and, under strict licensing laws, he could not take along his own guns.”
The hunting company would supply a shotgun and cartridges for the duiker hunt, he said.
The hunter added he believes Dosio and his guide surprised the elephants, who attacked because they felt threatened.
A forest elephant roams through a clearing in Gamba, Gabon.
“I would rather not go into detail, but it is safe to assume it would have been quick,” he said. “Ernie was a very well-known and popular hunter in the U.S. and in Africa, and a very keen conservationist; he did a hell of a lot of charity work and was a really good guy. What happened has been deeply felt by many on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Dosio’s body is being repatriated to America with assistance from the U.S. Embassy.
Dosio owned Pacific AgriLands Inc., a Modesto, California, vineyard land management company with its own 12,000-acre vineyard, according to Lodi News.
Central Africa is home to roughly endangered 95,000 forest elephants, with the largest numbers being found in Gabon, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
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