The first photos of three tiger cubs born at the Honolulu zoo last month were released today, more than three weeks after their birth.

The Sumatran tiger cubs, born Sept. 15, were the first tigers to be born at the Waikiki zoo since April 1981.

Zoo officials have said their mother, 9-year-old Chrissie, and the three cubs appear to be healthy and doing fine.

It is still unknown as to when the cubs will be available for public viewing.

The cubs and their parents are here through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan for Sumatran Tigers.

It was the association's program that brought Chrissie and Berani, the cubs' 9-year-old father, to Honolulu in the first place, officials said.

The breeding program is designed to maximize genetic variability in the captive population. Chrissie and Berani previously produced a litter of two males and one female at the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Children's Zoo in April 2004.

Chrissie was born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. She came to Honolulu in 2005 via the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana. Berani was born in the Phoenix Zoo and came to Honolulu from Fort Wayne the same time as Chrissie.

There are 41 male and 27 female registered Sumatran tigers in captivity in 25 zoos within the United States and Canada, zoo officials said.

The tiger's expanded habitat was built about a year and a half ago to accommodate the breeding pair, at a cost of $200,000 with private help from the Honolulu Zoo Society.

Before the latest, the last time tigers were born at the Honolulu Zoo was on April 27, 1981, to a pair of Bengal/Siberian hybrids, Tex and Marybell.

They produced a litter of five cubs, two of which were stillborn. Another cub died shortly thereafter, leaving one male and one female that were eventually sent to other zoos.