A Bengal tiger named "Jia Jia" gave birth to three cubs in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, Wednesday.

The mother and babies were all healthy, said Zhang Xiang, a keeper at Changsha City Zoo.

The three cubs, born early on May 28, weighed about one kilogram each, according to Zhang.

This was the fourth birth of the seven-year-old mother, who had produced 12 cubs in two and half years and 11 have survived, said Zhang, adding that it showed China had mastered the artificial-breeding technology for Bengal tigers in urban zoos.

Jia Jia could produce ten more baby tigers in ten years, said Hu Xiaoning, a veterinarian at the zoo.

The Bengal tiger is an endangered species. It is under top state protection in China and mainly lives in southwest China's Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region.

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2003)