US millionaire big-game hunter dies after being crushed by elephants

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/24/millionaire-hunter-dies-elephants-gabon

An American millionaire big-game hunter has died after being crushed by a group of elephants during a hunting expedition in Gabon.

474 points · 67 comments · view on lemmy.world

67 Comments

CombatWombat@feddit.online · 156 pts · 114d (35 replies)

If we're gonna pretend hunting is sport, you've gotta be prepared for the other team to show up and play.

hayvan@piefed.world · 42 pts · 114d (16 replies)

He was hunting antelopes, not elephants at least. But I'm still glad the elephants showed up.

el_twitto@lemmy.world · 59 pts · 114d (3 replies)

He had hunted elephants previously and had elephant trophies, so I have no sympathy for him.

expatriado@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 114d (1 reply)

so they remembered him

solrize@lemmy.ml · 35 pts · 113d

Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 12 pts · 113d

the elephant posse probably remembered him.

SippyCup@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 114d (4 replies)

The was hunting yellow backed duiker which, A, are evidently insanely easy to hunt. So easy that you can evidently shine a light at it at night, walk right up to it, and club it to death.

They're a vital food source for a bit part of central Africa.

And 2, they're so heavily hunted that they're at serious risk of endangerment.

I said something in another post about there being a chance this was a genuine conversation effort, but after doing some reading; no. This guy is just an asshole. He got justifiably trampled by elephants doing something for fun that the people of central Africa do every day to feed themselves.

jago@lemmy.ca · -18 pts · 114d (3 replies)

They’re a vital food source for a bit part of central Africa.
And 2, they’re so heavily hunted that they’re at serious risk of endangerment.

Food source or at risk of endangerment? Pick an argument.

...this was a genuine conversation effort...

Ah, I see. Don't bother.

Drusas@piefed.social · 22 pts · 114d (1 reply)

Still learning that more than one thing can be true at a time?

sigmaklimgrindset@sopuli.xyz · 14 pts · 113d

They're also just being an asshole because OP accidentally wrote "conVERsation" instead of "conSERvation", and that obviously invalidates the whole argument, duh.

SippyCup@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 113d

You sound like a cool dude with many real world friends. Certainly not like some chronically wrong chode who likes to pick at strangers on the internet to make himself feel bigger.

Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 7 pts · 113d (1 reply)

the elephants hunted the hunter.

hayvan@piefed.world · 1 pts · 113d

Hell yeah!

osanna@lemmy.vg · 2 pts · 113d (4 replies)

Why are the antelopes less important than the elephants?

vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 113d (2 replies)

One has a fragile population and is well respected the other doesn't. It's for the same reason Bison hunting is looked down apon but annihilating a boar with a landmine wouldn't be.

Edit: Just noticed that the species he was hunting was endangered, fuck him. My point still stands for boars though

osanna@lemmy.vg · 1 pts · 113d (1 reply)

Why does being endangered matter? They both have a preference to live, and would choose to not die. They both feel pain and fear. They don’t know they’re endangered. All they know is they want to live.

Humans killing animals is mostly unnecessary.

vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 113d

Stewardship of the land, environment, and creatures apon it is why, a species going through endangerment isn't going to pose even a quarter of the issues a booming elk population without wolves can for example.

As for your emotional point, wholly irrelevant. I would happily maim plenty of humans before granting them an indigent and painful death. So long as the kill is as clean as possible and as much of the animal is used as possible. Your emotional argument is wholly empty to me.

hayvan@piefed.world · 4 pts · 113d

I didn't say that. Just pointed out how the title could be misleading.

Solumbran@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 114d (15 replies)

If we're going to pretend it's a sport, let both sides be humans.

CombatWombat@feddit.online · 28 pts · 114d (10 replies)

I mean, the guise we use for hunting is that it's for population control to properly conserve the environment. I suppose if you wanted to say there were some populations that needed controlling on environmental grounds, like billionaires or something, I might be amenable.

Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 114d

Whoopsies! There goes another one that we've hunted to extinction. 🤷🏻‍♂️

grue@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 114d (4 replies)

It's more like that hunting permit fees fund actual conservation efforts, not that there's really much of a legitimate conservation effect from the hunting itself. (Except maybe when it's an invasive species.)

CombatWombat@feddit.online · 7 pts · 114d (1 reply)

Sure, I guess you could apply license fees for hunting permits on billionaires to conservation efforts if you insist.

DokPsy@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 113d

I vote to use their hoard similar to the Susan G Komen foundation. Awareness of the issue, funding the members(mass populous) with a bit going to research

Wispy2891@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 113d (1 reply)

I wonder what percentage goes to the actual conservation efforts, after all the cuts and bribes by the middlemen

ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 113d

It depends heavily where it is. Some of the programs are very very good, others are corrupt af.

The best ones give the people living in proximity to the animals recourse when said animals destroy crops or property. This plus giving back a portion of the fees to help community enrichment projects incentivizes protection of the animals by the locals, which deters poaching and stuff.

hayvan@piefed.world · 6 pts · 114d (2 replies)

When prey animals are "saved" from their natural predators, they tend to over reproduce and wreak havoc on their environment. Deer in North America is an example that needs to be controlled.

Is don't know to what extent though.

givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 114d

When prey animals are “saved” from their natural predators, they tend to over reproduce and wreak havoc on their environment.

Exactly...

When corrupt capitalists are "saved" from taxation, they tend to hoard wealth and wreck havoc on the economy. Drastically lowering not only everyone else's quality of life, but in many cases their physical health and well-being along with everyone they know and interact with

It's a classic trolly problem.

Track one: about 8,300,000,000 people

Track 2: 3,500 people that aimed the trolleybat track 1.

Would you turn the switch back so it saves 8.3 billion people, at the expense of of the less than 4 thousand people that put us in front of the trolley?

Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 113d

deer reproduce very fast, elephants take 22months to gestate a baby, big cats like wise. the forest elephant which is a different species is pretty at risk.

Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 113d

elephants, cape buffalos, lions and most of the cat species in africa, and forest elephants are pretty much endangered right

altphoto@lemmy.today · 7 pts · 113d

Billionaire hunting billionaires? The Victor gets the spoils? I'd watch that on Netflix. For free. While browsing.

OwOarchist@pawb.social · 7 pts · 114d (2 replies)

Wish granted: millionaires now hunt us for sport.

Solumbran@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 114d

I mean they already do that, at least if it were official it would give a legal way to get rid of them

matlag@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 114d

I thought we were calling these "layoffs" and their less fun variant "attrition"?

redlemace@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 114d (1 reply)

He was prepared (brought a gun) but simply lost.

CombatWombat@feddit.online · 3 pts · 113d

Everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

FauxLiving@lemmy.world · 69 pts · 114d (1 reply)

kudra@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 113d

you win the internet today

Apeman42@lemmy.world · 69 pts · 114d (3 replies)

Grass@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 113d

never thought I'd see the day

OldQWERTYbastard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 112d

I can hear this picture.

My wife and I 100% Super Mario Wonder while stoned off our asses.

Good times!

MrShankles@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 113d

Well I'll be damned...

albbi@piefed.ca · 49 pts · 114d

Should taxidermy him and give him to the Elephants. Based on the amount of "trophies" he had, it's what he would have wanted. To the victor go the spoils.

charade_you_are@sh.itjust.works · 39 pts · 114d

Just when you think the world is all injustice and pain, you get a feel good story like this one.

moondoggie@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 113d

He died the same way he lived: like an asshole.

GreenKnight23@lemmy.world · 30 pts · 114d

lol

Rozauhtuno@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 21 pts · 113d

Thank you elephants!

redlemace@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 114d

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes

SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org · 17 pts · 113d

Based elephants. Absolutely majestic animals.

webghost0101@sopuli.xyz · 17 pts · 114d

I will never not feel sadness towards the loss of life, if not just for the people around them that mourn.

But I can’t say much value was lost. Every child death in gaza had more potential to create value then whoever this was.

Alpha71@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 113d

And nothing of value was lost.

GarboDog@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 113d

Good, happy for the elephants

bizarroland@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 114d

Like if you asked me to come up with an ancient African curse, I would have never come up with the phrase, "May you be crushed by the elephants you hunt"

EntheoNaut@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 114d

Trample/Eat the Fucking Rich.

mastertigurius@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 114d

I almost felt like I was crushing him a bit myself while reading that. Felt good.

Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 114d (1 reply)

Oh, what a shame. Anyways,

Drusas@piefed.social · 6 pts · 114d

Shame it took so long.

betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 114d

Big gray leopards.

drdalek@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 9 pts · 114d

Hahaha

Jojowski@sopuli.xyz · 8 pts · 114d

Good

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 114d

Fate loves irony

bus_factor@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 113d

More like elephants stepped on my face, am I right?

wabafee@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 113d

Lol

sem@piefed.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 113d

Pshh millionaire?

You have to be a thousand times richer than that these days to have any clout.

/s

homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 114d

Yaaaaayyyyyy!!

MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 113d

Sweet

Asfalttikyntaja@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 113d

When the hunter gets captured by the game.

wRTTSoRjZr@piefed.zip · 1 pts · 113d
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