Youngsters are quite different, they are big brown balls of fluff which eventually become as big as the adults and join together in groups as they await the return of adults with food.
When Grampop entertained his old-man guests on the cane-backed sofa, they sometimes, in their mutual pleasure at the conversation, kicked up little balls of fluff from the same faded carpet.
For Lost, we come face to face with the balls of fluff that congregate under cupboards, as Hart shoves her camera into the unknown corners of the room, in search of her watch.
After failed attempts last year, we're convinced it's the same female trying again, but this time with a bit more life experience and some diligent care from my two children, who chase away marauding magpies and foxes and feed the inquisitive balls of fluff with corn.
(Anna, my companion for the afternoon, is a regular visitor of the detainees held in the centre, and will warn me with some urgency not to lose this wristband). I will have to empty my pockets into a locker, all the pennies and the five pence pieces, all the bits of tissue, crushed receipts, even the little balls of fluff in the linings of the pockets.
As almost perfectly round balls of fluff, king penguin chicks are well-adapted to their cold climate, but when their parents leave to go forage, the babies are left alone without food for up to 5 months at a time.
Aww! Cute little ball of fluff, right?
But the image of a helpless ball of fluff generated an outpouring.
She told me her heart sank when she reached into the machine for the ball of fluff.
New Zealanders, it turns out, have an affinity for what Mr. Morgan calls "that little ball of fluff" that "is actually a natural-born killer".
One of the animals, a giant ball of fluff, was cradled in her arms, and suddenly a small crowd of onlookers surrounded her.
