A Colorado couple is lucky to be alive after facing off with a bear that wandered into their home in search of food. Jon Johnson and his wife, George Fields, found the mother bear and her two cubs inside their kitchen eating some bread that was left on the counter.
Johnson says the bear started charging toward him and he was forced to fight back.
"She and I were sparring if you will," he told KMGH-TV. "She started getting aggressive, and that's when she took a swipe at my nose. At that point, I smacked her right in her nose."
The bear managed to slash him across the face and chest with its claws, leaving him with deep lacerations across his body. While Johnson was engaged in a "boxing match" with the bear, his wife grabbed a metal baseball bat and started hitting the wild animal.
"I felt like I had like a lightning bolt in my body that was driving that [baseball] bat. I was so scared," Fields said. "My adrenaline was, I mean, I can still hear it."
It took the couple about two minutes to finally chase the bear and her cubs from their home. At one point, the bear crashed into the wall, leaving a large crack in the shape of its head.
Despite going toe-to-toe with a bear, Johnson was not seriously injured. He did not require hospitalization and was treated at the scene by paramedics for various cuts across his face and chest. His wife was unharmed during the harrowing encounter.
Wildlife officials tracked the bear and found it about 900 yards from their home. The bear was euthanized, which is the standard policy when a bear attacks a human. They are searching for its cubs so they can take them to a shelter.