Friends Take 'Bird Box Challenge' To Next Level By Catching Alligators Blindfolded

Trying to perform daily tasks with a blindfold on is a silly thing to do.

But recently people have been doing just that as part of the so-called 'Bird Box Challenge', inspired by Netflix film Bird Box, in which Sandra Bullock and co wonder about in blindfolds so as to avoid looking at scary monsters.

Another silly thing that some people do is alligator wrestling. Merge the two and voila - you have a very, very silly activity.

A video shows gator handler Jason McDonald, 37, and friends Natasha Burdo, Charlie Fox, Tiffany Ann Bradford and Scott Newcomb wading through waters blindfolded, before grabbing gators and kissing them on the head.

Caters

As if this wasn't a strange enough thing to do anyway, the gang were actually doing this before the 'Bird Box Challenge' was even a thing.

Having watched the film and seen the craze sweeping the web, it dawned on Mr McDonald that he and his mates had been doing their own extra dangerous version of the challenge years previous.

The footage was taken from 2013 and 2014 at Colorado Gator Farm, USA, where each year they host gator wrestling classes - which is apparently their fun means of carrying out health checks on alligators before winter.

Mr McDonald conceded that it wasn't for everyone.

He said: "It's a lot harder to catch them blindfolded. It's more of a self-confidence thing.

"If you have a basic understanding of the behaviour of the gators you can work your way up to the gators and get behind them.

"When you are catching them blindfolded, you have to really move your hands gently and finesse the gator so they think it's another alligator bumping into them.

"When the gators are underwater they can't tell if someone's hand is another gator or rock, so typically they won't bite right away.

"There's always the possibility you'll get bit."

As for the 'Bird Box Challenge', Mr McDonald thinks it's 'great' and said it was 'cool' that they were ahead of the trend out in Colorado.

He said: "I think it's great seeing so many people challenge themselves with it.

"I do think it's not worth it to risk serious injury or death to get a Bird Box picture or video.

"I think it's cool we came up with something that has taken off this year.

"We get a lot of people saying we are crazy and nuts when they see the videos.

"It's for sure not something your average person would want to try."

Netflix do not agree with Mr McDonald though, and have urged people to pack it in with the challenge.

Whether you prefer to take safety tips from a streaming service or an alligator wrestler is your choice.

Topics: TV and Film, News, US News, Animals

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey