Brent Burns got bit by a cheetah once, which actually isn't that surprising

He’s always loved animals, even if they bite him sometimes.

Brent Burns is a tough guy. We already knew that well because he’s an NHL player, which means he makes his living crashing into other large humans at high speeds. But there’s something else we need to talk about: the time he got bit by a freakin’ cheetah.

Sharks forward Joe Pavelski went on SB Nation’s live show at the American Century Championship on Friday, and got asked which of his teammates would be the best animal trainer.

Burns was the answer, but Pavelski’s reasoning is what’s important here:

“He’s halfway there. He’s been bit by a cheetah before. He’s been attacked by one.”

Hold up. What.

Here’s another teammate, Joe Thornton, discussing Burns’ cheetah encounter for a March 2016 feature in Sports Illustrated:

“We were in a zoo in Columbus. We’re there and these cheetahs are out, and these are beautiful creatures. Just to see one is very, very cool. We got to go real with them and hold onto them. Burnsie was the first guy. He wanted to get in there and hold this huge cheetah. Like, they’re not small. This thing’s long and big. ‘I’ll do it,’ Burnsie says.

So Burnsie’s petting this cheetah, and all of a sudden the cheetah lunges at Burnsie and bites him. And me and [Colin White] look at each other like, what the f—just happened? And he took it like, no big deal. It was so weird. He got bit by a cheetah. How many guys could say that and live?

The way he handled it was, of course I’m going to get bit by a cheetah. WE were both terrified and he took it like no big deal, just a little scratch. He must’ve had a mark of the two teeth and a bruise there [on his ribs] for a little while. I think he does have a cheetah tattoo on him now too.”

Somehow, Burns managed to come out of the attack relatively unscathed.

Most people have never been bit by a cheetah. Maybe by your sister’s mean house cat who wanted you to pet him, but not the way you petted him, sure. Never a cheetah, though.

Burns isn’t your usual person, though, and not just because he’s a wealthy professional athlete who chooses to walk around like a Mumford and Sons roadie without enough teeth. He’s also a passionate lover of animals who hasn’t been shy about it.

In a 2011 article for The Mercury News, it was written that Burns owned “a menagerie of dogs (two), exotic birds (three) and snakes and other reptiles (number uncertain) at his rural home outside St. Paul, Minn.” Here’s an old YouTube video showing some of his “zoo” to a reporter:

Apparently he’d have even crazier animals if it was solely up to him.

“I’d have a tiger if my wife would let me, but she kiboshed that,” Burns said in 2015, via Sportsnet.

I’m not sure if that came before or after the cheetah bite — you’d think that might discourage him at least a little — but it’s clear Burns isn’t just your normal pet owner. He’s the kind of person who would try to pet a cheetah, have it bite him, then get a tattoo of the event.

And hey, now he’s got an amazing story to tell at dinner parties, or for his friends to tell reporters when they want something cheeky to write about the superstar defenseman.

Brent Burns 1, Cheetah 0.