What has the internet got in store for DC’s beloved eaglets?

The internet is wonderful for a great number of things — information, videos of pandas at play and the transmission of stories like this one. But as any internet dweller will tell you, it’s not always the safest, most kind or responsible place.
All of which goes to say that the American Eagle Foundation’s #NameTheNestlings campaign is a little risky.
The Foundation announced on Tuesday that the recently-hatched eaglets DC2 and DC3 are in need of “two creative and symbolic names.” With that, at least, we can certainly agree. So the Foundation is soliciting names through social media — “fans” of the babies can submit suggestions on the American Eagle Foundation or D.C. Department of Energy and Environment Facebook pages. Alternatively, suggestions are being monitored on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #NameTheNestlings and #DCEagleCam.
One piece of advice from the Foundation before you head off to Twitter to file your suggestion — “Viewers are encouraged to suggest names that are gender-neutral or names that can be cleverly altered to fit either a male or a female (as the sex of these two eaglets may not be determined until a later date).”
So what’s the risk? Well, anyone remember Boaty McBoatface?
Just last week, in fact, it came to the fore that the U.K.’s Natural Environment Research Council is also using the internet to crowdsource a name for a new research vessel. The poll won’t close until April 16, but at the moment the frontrunner by a clear margin is RSS Boaty McBoatface.
Of course, NERC could always overrule the internet, there’s certainly precedent for that. So whether RSS Boaty McBoatface will indeed soon cruising the high seas is TBD.
Similarly, the American Eagle Foundation’s name game announcement makes it sound like the Foundation intends to reserve final say in the names. The announcement will be made April 26 at the National Arboretum.
So you’ve got just under a month to put on your thinking caps and get creative. Here’s a sampling of what’s already out there:

Birdy McBirdface and Eagle Knievel. Boom! #namethenestlings #dceaglecam

— Ward McMasters (@WTMcMasters) March 30, 2016

#namethenestlings Air Force One and Air Force Two

— Tina Franklin (@TFinIllinois) March 30, 2016

https://twitter.com/leigh_ann415/status/715155361116753920
https://twitter.com/g_d_j_r/status/715175234110943232