Really really dumb stunt.

To most people, putting a bird cage on your head and jumping into the ocean with a live tiger shark is an obviously stupid thing to do.

But it took a close call for Gold Coast daredevil Shaun Harrington to learn that lesson the hard way.

Mr Harrington, 27, jumped into the water off Coolangatta last weekend, armed with only a flimsy bird cage, to be filmed with a tiger shark that had been hooked on a line by a professional fisherman friend.

The "cage diving" stunt, to promote his and twin brother Dean's clothing line, was uploaded on YouTube this week.

The 33-second clip shows Mr Harrington in the water next to the shark, before the 2.5-metre predator narrowly misses him as it lunges for him and slams into the boat.

The close call prompts a screaming and cursing Mr Harrington to leap back into the boat while using the $50 cage to fend off the shark.

Mr Harrington said he would not be repeating the stunt.

"I was pretty much walking on water to get back into the boat," he said.

"Mate, there's no way in hell I'd ever jump back in there again with it.

"It's just not f---ing worth it, they're just too unpredictable. They're crazy creatures."

But Mr Harrington, an avid surfer, said the incident would not stop him from returning to the waves.

"There's too many other people that can get eaten," he joked.

Unsurprisingly, James Cook University shark expert Colin Simpfendorfer was not impressed by the video.

"I just shook my head and thought it wasn't very smart," he said.

"It takes a split second for it to go very bad."

AAP

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/gold-coast-man-regrets-risky-shark-stunt-20140115-30ubq.html#ixzz2qR4vk69i

Submitted on 01/14/2014

Submitted by: Alison Moffat
Reference: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au Jan 15 2014

Copyright © 2013 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
A $50 bird cage to fend off an 8 foot tiger shark? What an idiot! He's lucky he got back into the boat uninjured. Thanks, Alison!

James said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
A scene right out of a cartoon! This guy is a first-class idiot...a fifty dollar bird cage? Well, he certainly got what he paid for! Thanks, Alison!

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