Five Endangered Dingo Puppies Born on the Central Coast at the Australian Reptile Park

The NSW's Central Coast hands-on zoo, Australian Reptile Park, has welcomed the arrival of five dingo puppies bred in captivity over the autumn months, born to resident dingoes Adina (12 months) and Fred (24 months).

With a dingo breeding cycle generally expected to yield two or three pups, Adina and Fred exceeded all expectations by producing five healthy pups comprising of three boys and two girls.

The five pups are fully reliant on their mother Adina for the next three weeks before venturing out of the man-made den at Australian Reptile Park, perfectly timed for visitors during the June and July school holidays.

As an active supporter of wildlife conservation, Australian Reptile Park bred the dingoes to educate Australians about the importance of the species within the eco-system, to protect them from extinction, and also to dispel the myth that the dingo is a dangerous pest.

“The dingo plays a very important role in the Australian eco-system,” said Tim Faulkner, General Manager of the Australian Reptile Park and key presenter on Into the Wild with Tim Faulkner.

“Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate on earth due to habitat distribution, agriculture, and most importantly, feral foxes and cats feeding on mammals that are in the critical weight range of five kilos or less.

“Dingoes are being blasted, baited, tracked, shot and hunted in the wild because of their perceived damage to agriculture. However, killing dingoes removes them from the critical weight eco-system, allowing feral foxes and cats to continuously increase the rate of mammal extinction.

“If dingoes continue to be hunted, Australia will see another endangered species disappear, just like the Tasmanian Tiger, a marsupial which shared a similar role in the environment as the dingo.

“The Tasmanian Tiger disappeared from Australian soil on September 7 - 1936, a date now known as the annual National Threatened Species Day,” added Tim.

During the June and July school holidays, Australian Reptile Park will be celebrating the birth of the five dingo puppies with daily conservation shows and photo opportunities at 12.30pm. The enclosed den will also be open and visible for guests to admire the pups roaming with parents Adina and Fred.

Australian Reptile Park is open daily from 9am till 5pm, located at Somersby on the Central Coast of New South Wales, approximately 1 hour from Sydney and Newcastle. Known as the best family fun day out, the park is also home to koalas, kangaroos, wombats, crocodiles, cassowaries, snakes, spiders, the endangered Tasmanian Devil and much more. View all the animals and attractions on-line at www.reptilepark.com.au.

More Central Coast Kids School Holiday Ideas can be found here.