A Colorado couple managed to survive a violent ‘boxing match’ with a mother bear inside their home, after the huge beast broke into their kitchen with two of its cubs and started ransacking their cupboards.
Jon Johnson, 71, and his wife George Ann Fields were in the basement of their Pine, Jefferson County home on Monday evening when they heard a thunderous crash coming from the floor above.
Heading out to investigate, Johnson said he turned the corner at the stop of the basement stairs to find a ‘bear looking at me right in the face’.
‘She swiped me across the nose – I smacked her on her arm,’ Johnson recalled to GMA, marking the beginning of what he called a ‘sparring match’.
Surveillance footage outside of the couple’s home shows the bear entering the property through a screen door, along with two of its cubs
Jon Johnson, 71, punched the bear and was involved in a ‘boxing match’ with the animal after finding it in his kitchen
George Ann Field, used a baseball bat to attack the animal in her kitchen after finding it
‘There really was no decision on running because I could either go towards the bear, or stay there and keep it from getting to George,’ Johnson said, adding, ‘I was going to do whatever necessary to defend her.’
Surveillance footage outside of the couple’s home shows the bear entering the property through a screen door, along with two of its cubs.
The mother bear swiped Johnson ‘multiple times with its claws’ during the brawl, leaving him with a series of lacerations to his face, stomach and both of his arms.
However, the 71-year-old says his injuries may have been a lot more serious if not for the heroic actions of Fields, who went behind the bear with a Louisville Slugger bat and began striking it in the head to fend the animal off and save her husband’s life.
‘I felt like I had like a lightning bolt in my body that was driving that [baseball] bat. I was so scared,’ an emotional Fields revealed to KMGH. ‘My adrenaline was, I mean, I can still hear it.’
The mother bear swiped Johnson ‘multiple times with its claws’ during the brawl, leaving him with a series of lacerations to his face, stomach and both of his arms
Claw marks are seen across Johnson’s stomach
A deep cut was also sustained to his arm in the bare knuckle brawl
The brawl lasted for around two minutes, but the couple admit that it felt like a lifetime.
As the couple continued to exchange blows with the bear, eventually the mother relented, turned on its haunches and ran back through the kitchen.
Dazed by the strikes administered by Field’s bat, the bear crashed head first into the wall before scurrying out of the kitchen screen door with her two cubs.
‘There was a bear in the house, it attacked my husband,’ Fields can be heard telling an operator in a 911 call dialed just seconds later.
Jefferson County officials arrived on the scene where Johnson was treated for his injuries but not taken to hospital.
Fields was unharmed in the ordeal.
As the couple continued to exchange blows with the bear, eventually the mother relented, turned on its haunches and ran back through the kitchen. Dazed by the strikes administered by Field’s bat, the bear crashed head first into the wall before scurrying out of the kitchen screen door with her two cubs
KDVR
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife searched for the bear with a canine unit, finding it at around 7am on Tuesday morning around 900 yards from the home.
The bear was euthanized at the scene, according to CPW. After a creature attacks a human resulting in injury it must be euthanized, according to their policy.
DNA samples from the bear have been sent to the University of Wyoming Forensics Lab for analysis to confirm the bear was responsible for the attack.
Neither of the two cubs who were spotted at the home alongside the mother have been found, however officials are hoping to track them down to take them into care and rehabilitate them.
Wildlife officers continue to work in the area to find the cubs.
Officials also warned the local community that bears are incredibly active at this time of year, as they attempt to eat as much as possible before hibernation season.