Prepared diets, carefully adjusted to the needs of particular group of species are available as commercial products in the market.
This has reduced the inherent variations in the local supplies and animals kept at different places can be provided with similar diets. In many of these preparations attention is given to special needs of individuals of particular age groups of particular species. This has facilitated the task of conservationists enormously.
The treatment of individual animals, preventive medicines, systematic vaccination, antibiotics etc. along with carefully prepared diets have resulted in general improvement of health, wellbeing and survival of most of the species in captivity. A wild population of black footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) consisting of about 100-120 individuals was discovered in 1981 in Meeteetse, Wyoming, U.S.A. It was driven to near extinction within a period of one year by a succession of epidemic plague.
Today these animals survive in captivity only as they have been administered a vaccine to ward off the disease. Management of disease in wild populations in nature has been carried out by using vaccines in baits such as Rabies vaccine which has been administered to wild fox population and Parvovirus vaccine has been given to wolves. Individual animal treatment programme has been undertaken for wild populations of bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk and mountain gorillas etc.