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Your morning adorable: Baby Asian elephant greets her keeper at Munich’s Hellabrunn Zoo

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This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

It’ll be a merry Christmas indeed at Munich, Germany’s Hellabrunn Zoo: After a two-year gestation period, Asian elephant Panang gave birth to a healthy female calf Monday. The calf, named Jamuna Toni, weighed nearly 250 pounds at birth.

For obvious (read: adorable) reasons, Jamuna Toni has quickly become a favorite among staff at the zoo -- she’s shown here with keeper Robert Ostermeier, who didn’t even get mad when her wandering trunk found its way to a place that, frankly, it didn’t belong. (Hey, she’s young; she didn’t know any better.)

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Since Jamuna Toni’s mother, Panang, had some difficulty with previous pregnancies, keepers took an unusual step to help things go smoothly this time around: They taught her to do maternity exercises, which she practiced regularly to help her build stamina and muscle strength. It seems to have worked, and Panang has what just may be the cutest calf we’ve ever seen to show for her efforts!

More photos of Jamuna Toni after the jump!

-- Lindsay Barnett

First, second, third photos: Joerg Koch / AFP/Getty Images
Fourth photo: Uwe Lein / Associated Press
Fifth photo: Alexandra Beier / Getty Images

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