Dingo pups are usually born in late May or early June.

The park’s general manager, Tim Faulkner, said the pups’ parents, Adina and Fred, had a different idea and decided to give staff and visitors an early Easter present.

Mr Faulkner said the five pups were initially fully reliant on their mother Adina but could now be seen on display bonding with mum, in the dingo enclosure.

“Adina has chosen a place to make her den in a place that is open and visible for guests to admire the pups interacting with parents Adina and Fred,” Mr Faulkner said.

He said the birth was perfectly timed for visitors to see them during the Easter school holidays.

The pups will soon be frolicking around the yard and playing with each other, adding to the show for park visitors.

Mr Faulkner said park bred their dingoes to educate people about the importance of the species within the eco-system, to protect them from extinction, and to dispel the myth that the dingo is a dangerous pest.

He said dingoes played a crucial role in controlling the numbers of foxes and feral cats which were decimating Australian mammals.

“As cute as the puppies are, they play a crucial role in raising species awareness,” Mr Faulkner said.

“The dingo plays a very important role in the Australian eco-system. 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.” 

The Australian Reptile Park, at Somersby, is home to one of Australia’s largest collection of reptiles, as well as koalas, kangaroos, wombats, quokkas, platypus, cassowaries, spiders, the endangered Tasmanian devil and more.