SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) – Three Siberian tiger cubs have been born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, marking the first successful births of the endangered species here.

The three cubs were born June 7 to first-time parents, Karana, 13, and Tatiana, 4, but the zoo held off on any public announcements until Wednesday night to make sure the cubs survived.

Tatiana delivered the cubs over a 31/2-hour period. Each cub weighed about 3 pounds.

Fewer than 400 of the world’s largest cats, known as Amur tigers, remain in the wild. About 160 are in zoos and wildlife parks in North America.

“It went incredibly smoothly,” said Anne Baker, the zoo director. “It’s a big deal. We’re so pleased because Tatiana’s a first-time mom and she’s very young. She’s showing us that she’s a very good mom.”

The cubs, whose eyes are not yet open, spend most of their time nursing or being groomed by Tatiana, who tries to stay within a few feet of the cubs.

Baker said the cubs will stay indoors until they are weaned at about 17 weeks. Video of the cubs will be on display in the zoo’s lobby until they are ready for their public debut.

Baker said the birth of the cubs is a good example of the cooperation needed to save endangered species from extinction. Karana is on loan from a zoo in Toronto. Tatiana is from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo.

The tigers have been devastated by loss of habitat and intense poaching along the Amur River in Russia’s Far East, Baker said. In the 1990s, the poaching was fueled by a demand for tiger parts used to make traditional medicines in Asia.

Tatiana’s own grandmother was killed by a poacher in Russia, but her father was rescued as an orphaned cub.

The zoo boasts one of the world’s top breeding programs for Asian elephants, another endangered species.

Over the past decade, the zoo has had four successful births and its resident bull has sired a total of eight babies. It also has successfully bred red pandas, another endangered species.