File photo of biologist and conservationist Sanjay Gubbi. Renowned wildlife biologist and conservationist Sanjay Gubbi has written to Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre to issue an order to discontinue treating wild animals injured due to natural reasons, especially within protected areas such as tiger reserves, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries. Pointing out that injuries or mortality of wild animals caused due to attacks by other wild animals, natural accidents, and thorns is an important part of the natural cycle and crucial in reducing human-animal conflicts, Gubbi noted that there has been a spurt in treating wildlife injured due to such reasons, more than often triggered by social media pressure. A natural process “Natality and mortality are a key part of the natural cycle which helps balance wildlife numbers. This is especially true with animals such as tigers, elephants, etc that have no natural predators (occasionally elephant calves are preyed on by tigers).” “Hence injuries or natural mortality helps keep animal numbers under ecological carrying capacity. Keeping animal numbers within ecological carrying capacity is an important …