The trio of rare Amur tiger cubs at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium no longer bear much resemblance to the wide-eyed little cub on the Postal Service's new "Save Vanishing Species" stamps, but the 140-pound predators still made an impressive backdrop for a ceremony introducing the stamps locally.

Pittsburgh Postmaster Joe Meimann and zoo President Barbara Baker presided at the event in Highland Park showing the Postal Service's fourth "semipostal" stamp, which sells for 55 cents, instead of the standard 44 cents. The difference goes to charity.

While the Amur cubs -- just over a year old -- and their mother lounged, paced and played in the zoo's tiger enclosure, dignitaries uncovered an oversized version of the stamp in front of zoo visitors. Tiny envelopes with the stamp and a "Pittsburgh Zoo" ink cancellation mark were being sold nearby, aimed at collectors.

"Stamps are not only postage, they are tiny portraits," Meimann said. "The most important ones are the ones that bring attention to the problems Americans have the power to change."

The design, painted by artist Nancy Stahl of New York City and first released on Tuesday in Washington, benefits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's multinational species conservation funds for animals like tigers, African and Asian elephants, marine turtles, great apes and rhinos, he said.

There are only six Amur tigers a year old or younger in U.S. zoos, and Pittsburgh has three of them, Baker said. There are 142 Amur tigers in captivity in the United States and fewer than 400 in the wild.

"I feel like this is a major animal we need to spotlight, and to draw awareness to their conservation," she said. "If we don't, they're going to be gone in our lifetime."

Pittsburgh nearly lost one of the three cubs to a severe infection last year, but the zoo's veterinary staff nursed her back to health and reintroduced her to her siblings in December.

Previous semipostal stamps have included "Heroes of 2001," "Stop Family Violence," and the still-available Breast Cancer Research stamp, which has raised about $76 million since its issue in 1998, Meimann said. Other zoos around the country will hold similar events to spread awareness of the stamp campaign.

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