Kangaroo. Any of various leaping, plant-eating marsupials native to Australia. -- Webster's dictionary

Jonathan Taylor knows a kangaroo when he sees one.

Jonathan, 4, of Charlotte, N.C., was standing on the bottom rail of a wood fence at Mill Mountain Zoo on Friday morning, watching the zoo's newest residents hop about their enclosure.

"Three kan-ga-woos!" he said, delighted.

Taylor Ann Plunkett knows, too. When Taylor Ann, 4, of Roanoke, was asked what kind of animal she was looking at Friday, she grinned, like a kid who knows the right answer:

"Kangaroos."

Meet Baxter, Frankie and Marley. The three red kangaroos are on loan to the zoo for the summer from Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge.

Their extended visit is a way to add something new to the zoo for a season without the expense of building a new exhibit, zoo officials said. They inhabit the space vacated by Ruby the tiger, who died last winter.

Zoo education curator David Jobe said the animals have adapted well to their temporary home. Far from hiding from all the attention they received Friday, which included cameras, reporters and a stream of visitors, many of them under 5, the kangaroos seemed unfazed. Baxter, especially, often approached the fence to eye visitors with curiosity.

Not even the presence of the zoo's cougar, Nina, in the space next door seems to have bothered the 'roos much, Jobe said. "The cougar was more stressed by the kangaroos."

Sometimes Baxter even bounce, bounce, bounced across the foreground of his enclosure Friday, as though on cue.

"Do it again, kangaroo!" called Taylor Ann.

Kangaroos are mild-mannered herbivores who can weigh up to 200 pounds. Female kangaroos, as every schoolchild knows, carry their young in a pouch. They are native to Australia, where some consider them a pest.

They are also cute as the dickens, at least to American eyes, with their enormous feet and big ears.

And yes, the three kangaroos sometimes box with their little forearms.

"It looks more like slap-fighting," Jobe said.

"Girl-fighting," zookeeper Christie Saunders said.

Adult male kangaroos box to defend their territory, but with these youngsters, zoo officials said, it's more like puppies scuffling among themselves.

None of the three kangaroos has a pouch for its young, for a simple reason: All are male.

Baxter, at 2, is the oldest of the group and the most assertive.

"Baxter's the head honcho," Saunders said. "Frankie is a little bit of a scaredy-cat." She called Marley "laid-back. None of them has let me touch them yet."

On the other hand, the kangaroos don't seem to mind having visitors in their cage. Several photographers entered the kangaroo enclosure Friday, and although Baxter hopped in circles, none of the marsupials seemed too upset.

Kangaroos are nocturnal, but the leafy tiger habitat at the zoo is shady enough that the animals remained active Friday well into the morning hours. Otherwise, "They would probably sleep through the day," Jobe said,

As noon approached, they looked ready to do just that.

Baxter, Frankie and Marley will be on exhibit at Mill Mountain Zoo until sometime in September. For zoo information, call 343-3241 or visit www.mmzoo.org.