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Steven Lawyer built a mini submarine named Bebosphere with a paintball cylinder, oxygen meter, and lead weights to take his baby parakeet Bebe diving to a meter deep in the Bahamas, and the video went viral, but presenters and experts questioned whether the bird really chose to enter.
A six-year-old green parakeet named Bebe has just become one of the most famous birds on the internet for a reason no one expected. His owner, Steven Lawyer, built a custom mini submarine to take the parakeet diving in the colorful reefs of the Bahamas, providing the bird with a view of the ocean floor that its species has likely never had in thousands of years of existence. The video quickly went viral and divided opinions: while thousands found the scene charming, others questioned whether a parakeet should be inside a submerged paintball cylinder in the ocean.
The improvised submarine, dubbed “Bebosphere,” was built with a paintball air cylinder, an oxygen meter, and lead weights to keep the structure submerged. “We like to snorkel and he likes to do everything we do with us,” Lawyer told CBS affiliate WBNS. “So I thought: let’s find a way to let the parakeet dive with us.” The result was a handmade device that allowed Bebe to descend about a meter below the surface, wrapped in a bubble of air while fish and corals passed around.
How the parakeet mini submarine was built and how it works
Parrot exploring underwater in a mini submarine😳
📹bebebirdparrot pic.twitter.com/RFtgw3P0xJARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW— Interesting World (@_fluxfeeds) April 5, 2026See also
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The design of the Bebosphere is more ingenious than it appears at first glance. The paintball cylinder provides the air that keeps the parakeet breathing inside the sealed structure, while the oxygen meter allows Lawyer to monitor the available air levels in real time.
The lead weights attached to the bottom prevent the device from floating back to the surface, keeping the parakeet at the desired depth during the dive.
The submarine descends to approximately one meter deep, a distance sufficient for the parakeet to observe the reefs of the Bahamas without exposure to pressures that could be dangerous for such a small bird.
Lawyer stated that the device was tested before placing Bebe inside and that the parakeet entered the tube of its own accord. “I know my bird, I know how he gets when he’s nervous. He looks intrigued in that video,” the owner told WBNS.
The parakeet that besides diving has already jumped out of a plane 15 times
Diving in the Bahamas is not Bebe’s first extreme adventure. The parakeet has accompanied Lawyer on 15 different skydiving jumps, protected inside a transparent bubble attached to the owner’s chest while he jumps from planes.
Images posted by Lawyer on YouTube show the bird seemingly calm inside the capsule during free fall, with the wind passing around the protective structure.
The profile Lawyer built for the parakeet on social media has turned Bebe into an animal celebrity with thousands of followers. Each new adventure generates massive engagement, and the diving in the Bahamas has been the most viral content so far.
For the owner, the parakeet is an adventure companion who participates in everything voluntarily. For critics, it is a pet that cannot consent to activities involving risks it cannot understand.
The criticisms that the parakeet video received from presenters and experts
Not everyone was charmed by the scene of the parakeet inside the handmade submarine. The host of the Late Show, Stephen Colbert, commented on the case during an episode that aired on Monday, offering a perspective that summarized the skepticism of many.
“It’s adorable, but I think we’re using the words ‘exploring’ and ‘submarine’ very generously here,” Colbert said about a headline describing Bebe “exploring the Bahamas in a custom-built submarine.”
Colbert went further and suggested an alternative headline that captured the criticism directly: “Confused bird trapped in a bottle wishes this would end.” The joke raised a point that animal behavior experts also questioned: to what extent does the parakeet have real autonomy in the situation.
Lawyer claims that Bebe entered the submarine of his own accord, but critics argue that a pet parakeet follows its owner out of social instinct, not because it understands what it means to dive in a sealed cylinder in the ocean.
The debate about animal welfare that the parakeet in the Bahamas reignited
The virality of the video reignited a recurring discussion on social media: where is the line between including a pet in the owner’s activities and exposing the parakeet to situations it would not choose on its own?
Parakeets are intelligent and social birds, capable of forming strong bonds with their owners. This sociability can be interpreted as a willingness to participate in adventures, but it can also simply be the inability to refuse.
Parakeets comprise about 115 species of seed-eating parrots and can live up to 12 years in captivity. They are animals that thrive in stable environments, with predictable routines and constant social interaction.
A dive in a paintball cylinder in the ocean and 15 skydiving jumps are not part of the natural repertoire of any parakeet species. For Lawyer, Bebe is an adventurer. For critics, it is an animal that depends entirely on its owner and cannot say no.
What the diving parakeet case reveals about viral animal content
The video of Bebe diving in the Bahamas is yet another example of how animals in unusual situations generate massive engagement on social media. The parakeet inside a handmade mini submarine is visually irresistible: it’s cute, unexpected, and elicits immediate emotional reactions.
But the debate that follows the virality is also predictable. Whenever an animal appears in a situation that is clearly not natural, part of the audience questions whether the cuteness of the video justifies what was necessary to produce it.
Lawyer defends that the parakeet was safe, monitored, and participating of its own accord. Colbert and skeptics argue that the narrative of the bird’s autonomy is, at the very least, exaggerated. The truth likely lies somewhere between the two extremes:
Bebe likely did not suffer during the dive, but also did not make an informed decision about entering a submerged paintball cylinder in the Caribbean. What is certain is that the video of the parakeet will continue to be shared for a long time.
What do you think: was the parakeet’s owner creative and careful or did he go too far by taking the bird diving in the Bahamas? Do you think Bebe really chose to enter the submarine or did the parakeet simply follow its owner? Let us know in the comments. Videos of animals in unusual situations always divide opinions between those who find them cute and those who find them concerning, and this case is perfect for debate.
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