Yay San Francisco Zoo! Not only did it win back its accreditation, but it also vaulted into Comedy Central gold with an inspired intern's (possibly unauthorized?) email to the Colbert Report asking if Stephen Colbert would be interested in having a baby bald eagle named after him. Genius! The picture to your left is a still from the show, featuring John Ashcroft's rendition of "Let The Eagle Soar," as Stephen picked his namesake hatchling-to-be. (Click here to watch the video -- it's labeled "Stephen Jr.")

According to the zoo, this is all part of its Bald Eagle Breeding Program, which was started in 1985 to repopulate California with eagles after they almost died out because of DDT. Since 1991, the SF Zoo has released 90 bald eagle chicks into the wild, and this year, the eagles have laid 17 eggs so far, one of which is Stephen Jr. When they hatch, about half of the chicks will be raised on Catalina Island, and the other half will be raised at the conservation center and released on Santa Cruz Island. Check out on the right what little fuzzy Stephen Jr. will look like when he makes it out of his chiton shell!

Webcam fans, watch the eggs here (site appears to be down for now, but will hopefully come back up soon -- click on Eagle Nest Cam). John Ashcroft fans, click here for video and audio clips of "Let The Eagle Soar."