Photo by Erika Bauer/Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Mei Xiang’s panda cub is finally starting to look like a giant panda, the National Zoo says. And as evidenced by the pictures above and below, they’re right. The black markings have come in. He has a shape that is panda-like in nature. His back saddle “looks just like his dad, Tian Tian’s,” the Zoo says.

Though his eyes still won’t open yet (that doesn’t happen until he’s between 6 and 8 weeks old), he’s growing steadily, clocking in at 1.9 pounds. But this begs the serious question: is this panda cub cute as hell or what? I personally believe that yes, he is cute as hell. DCist Associate Editor Rachel Sadon says that he is not quite there yet, remarking that he “looks like a knock-off stuffed animal.”

Photo by Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian’s National Zoo

What say you, readers?