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<\/a><\/p>\nWhile most parakeets are content with a swinging mirror and a bowl of seeds, Bebe is busy making history beneath the waves of the Atlantic. At just 2.4 ounces, this white-winged parakeet has traded the quiet life for a front-row seat to gravity-defying stunts, from 500-mile bike treks to skydiving through the clouds.<\/p>\n
Now, thanks to a custom-built ‘submarine’ made of a food container and a paintball tank, Bebe has added ‘underwater explorer’ to an adventurer\u2019s resume that puts most humans to shame. It\u2019s a story that blurs the line between a pet\u2019s loyalty and a thrill-seeker\u2019s curiosity, proving that some bonds are strong enough to withstand 40 mph winds and three feet of saltwater.<\/p>\n
Bebe\u2019s latest activity was exploring underwater in the Bahamas inside a vessel that his owner, Steven Lawyer, built with a plastic food container and a paintball air tank. Lawyer has called the vessel a submarine and named it the \u201cBebosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
A video of Bebe\u2019s underwater expedition has been viewed more than 4.3 million times on Instagram and appeared on \u201cThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert,\u201d where the host joked that calling the vessel a submarine was generous.<\/p>\n
While some people have criticized Lawyer for sending his parrot underwater, Lawyer said Bebe, 6, wanted to do it.<\/p>\n
Lawyer said Bebe practiced going underwater in the vessel in a sink at home and\u00a0did not display typical signs of distress, such as burying his head, tightening his wings, trying to flee or – in the case of spotting a predator – chirping.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went in willingly and he enjoyed it,\u201d Lawyer, 60, told The Washington Post. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019ll do it again with me. He\u2019d prefer that to sitting back on shore in a cage or at an Airbnb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawyer met Bebe in 2020 while he was shopping at a Florida pet store. He was drawn to the playful parrot who stood on Lawyer\u2019s fingers and gripped the front of his son\u2019s hat with his beak. Lawyer bought him and named him Bebe because white-winged parakeets are sometimes called bee bee parrots – but also because, he said, the parrot with green and white feathers was tiny like a baby.<\/p>\n
Bebe began following Lawyer almost everywhere. When Lawyer – who in fact is a lawyer – receives cellphone calls, Bebe flies to the phone and steps on or pecks at the screen. It\u2019s a toss-up whether he\u2019ll accept or decline the call.<\/p>\n
When Lawyer teaches indoor cycling classes near his home in central Iowa, Bebe sometimes co-instructs from Lawyer\u2019s shoulder with chirps. Bebe tucks himself under Lawyer\u2019s shirt when he\u2019s tired, and at night, he sleeps on Lawyer\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n
Bebe flies outside almost every day. When Lawyer loses sight of Bebe, he worries that a hawk will attack the parrot or a passerby will steal him. But Bebe always returns to his shoulder.<\/p>\n
In public, Lawyer said, he enjoys watching people\u2019s moods change when they spot Bebe, who will perch on anyone\u2019s shoulder. He has posed for thousands of selfies, Lawyer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s my little ambassador of smiles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bebe became well-known in Iowa by riding on Lawyer\u2019s shoulders during roughly 500-mile annual bike rides. The Des Moines Register featured Bebe on its front page last year.<\/p>\n
The parrot tightly grips Lawyer\u2019s shirt collar with his foot when Lawyer reaches 40 mph on his bike. Bebe sometimes flies away during the rides, Lawyer said, but then finds Lawyer and comes back. Lawyer said that some cyclists who are unfamiliar with Bebe turn their heads in confusion and ask if the bird on his shoulder is real.<\/p>\n
Lawyer, an avid skydiver who studied physics at Iowa State University, also found a way for Bebe to skydive with him after the bird tried to get on the plane with him a few times, he said. Lawyer attached a plastic bubble that\u2019s typically used in cat backpacks to the front of his skydiving suit. Bebe has sat in the bubble, which has holes for ventilation, during more than a dozen of Lawyer\u2019s jumps, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 2.4 ounces,\u201d Lawyer said, \u201cand he\u2019s got a personality that\u2019s bigger than a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
While planning a trip to the Bahamas this year, Lawyer said, he thought Bebe would want to snorkel alongside him. There was one problem: Parrots can\u2019t swim underwater.<\/p>\n
So Lawyer attached a paintball air tank to a plastic food container, along with valves that let air to flow in and out. He added a meter that displays oxygen levels and sets off an alarm if they drop.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there were any indication that it was stressful to him, he wouldn\u2019t be there,\u201d Lawyer said. \u201cI only take him on activities that we\u2019ve eased our way into and that he is showing an interest in.\u201d<\/p>\n
On March 24, Bebe went about three feet underwater in a harbor with calm water for about 15 minutes, Lawyer said, while Lawyer snorkeled alongside him. After sharing the video on Instagram on April 4, Lawyer said he was shocked that it went viral. Some viewers were not pleased.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe literal exact opposite place bro is meant to be,\u201d one commentator wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimal abuse for clicks & views,\u201d another comment said.<\/p>\n
But Cher Quinn, Lawyer\u2019s girlfriend, said Bebe\u2019s body language in the vessel was identical to what he displays when leisurely perched on Lawyer\u2019s shoulder. He looked relaxed and curious about his surroundings, Quinn said.<\/p>\n
Lawyer said Bebe\u2019s playfulness has rubbed off on him, and he next wants to take the bird along while he paraglides with a motor attached to his back – an activity called power paragliding. He will, he said, ensure that Bebe really wants to go.<\/p>\n
White-winged parakeets can live up to two decades, and Lawyer said he hopes the duo will stay active for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s my buddy,\u201d Lawyer said. \u201cAnd we do everything together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Washington Post|Published 15 hours ago While most parakeets are content with a swinging mirror and a bowl…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2201,97950,68324,176168,176170,176171,176169,2195,61,542,62019,97061,60,176172,82,10873,6324,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-398739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-airbnb","9":"tag-atlantic","10":"tag-bahamas","11":"tag-bebe","12":"tag-bebosphere","13":"tag-cher-quinn","14":"tag-des-moines-register","15":"tag-florida","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-instagram","18":"tag-iowa","19":"tag-iowa-state-university","20":"tag-ireland","21":"tag-quinn","22":"tag-science","23":"tag-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert","24":"tag-the-washington-post","25":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}