Which is Cuter: Baby Animals or Baby Groot?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may have crushed Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend at the box office, but that doesn't mean a motley crew of scientifically modified turtles (who, lets be honest, look nothing like turtles) have anything on the real star of the summer's blockbusters: Baby Groot. By now you've seen Guardians and delighted in the likes of Groot, the tree-like giant with a heart of gold, you've giggled along side Rocket, the raccoon-ish creature with a bad mouth and a penchant for machine guns, but the CGI creature that has captured our hearts was only seen in the film's final moments. Warning, spoilers ahead.

Baby Groot, also known by admirers as Dancing Groot, was formed by one of the branches of Groot, after he sacrificed himself to save his friends. Planted in a pot with some soil and diligent love and care from Rocket, we see Groot as he grows into adolescence. A post-credits sequence features Groot swaying and grooving to the beat of a Jackson 5 tune. Truly, we've never seen a more adorable and endearing sequence in films all summer long.

Audiences immediately clung to Baby Groot, creating a slew of gifs from his killer dance moves and even asking Marvel to make a dancing Groot toy. It's only a matter of time, really. So it prompted us to wonder, is Baby Groot the end-all-be-all to cute things? Surely, nothing could be cuter than baby animals, the internet's favorite "Awwww" inducing creatures? We'll let you be the judge. So what's cuter: Baby Groot or these baby animals?

ROUND 1: PUPPY

VS. BABY GROOT

ROUND 2: PIGLET

VS. BABY GROOT

ROUND 3: 2-Legged Piglet

Vs. Baby Groot

ROUND 4: Baby hedgehog

Vs. Baby Groot

Round 5: Baby Seal

Vs. Baby Groot

Round 6: Baby Sloth

Vs. Baby Groot

Round 7: Baby Elephant

Vs. Baby Groot

Round 8: Duckling

Vs. Baby Groot

So, is there a clear winner in the cuteness game? To make things fair, let's have grown-up Groot be the judge. And the verdict is?

Thought so.

Images: Marvel; Tumblr; KnowYourMeme; Animal Planet; Giphy