Ernest Harold Baynes: New Hampshire’s Own Doctor Dolittle

Ernest Harold Baynes is fondly remembered in New Hampshire as our own Doctor Dolittle. To the rest of the nation, he is known as an important early 20^th century wildlife conservationist. A self-taught naturalist, he wrote and lectured extensively on animal behavior, bird and bison restoration, the role of animals in WWI, and vivisection. Baynes shared his New Hampshire home with tame bear, fox, boar, bison, and wolf. He fought to end the trade in bird feathers for fashion and established one of the first bird sanctuaries in America. While serving as conservator to the Corbin Park bison herd, he convinced President Theodore Roosevelt to support the preserving of the American bison from extinction through the founding of the American Bison Society. Baynes’ work inspires us to consider how we intervene to help wildlife recover from the harms inflicted on them by humans. This illustrated lecture includes archival Baynes photographs from the Plainfield Historical Society collection.

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