Jon Johnson, George Ann Field survive bear attack inside home with bare hands, baseball bat

A Colorado couple is lucky to be alive after a bear attack inside their home.

Jon Johnson and George Ann Field were watching television on Tuesday morning when a mother bear and her cub entered their home.

Mr. Johnson’s face and chest were slashed by the adult bear before Ms. Field grabbed a baseball bat and went to work.

“I whacked that bear as hard as I could, both hands,” she told a local Fox affiliate on Tuesday. “You would have thought I was a Louisville slugger. And I hit this floor as hard as I could and she bolted for the door.”

The bear then sprinted head-first into drywall, reoriented itself and exited the home.

“We worked as a team. I was the bait, she was the bat,” Mr. Johnson, a 71-year-old Pine resident, deadpanned.

The two didn’t even know that a bear cub also entered the building through a screen door until seeing surveillance video.

“Thank you Lord!” Ms. Field said while holding back tears. “I’m just like, ’Now I know.’ It was a tough night.”

The ordeal lasted two minutes, but Mr. Johnson said it felt closer to 10.

“Figured if it’s tender on me it would be tender on her,” he said of the punch he landed on the bear’s nose.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife eventually tracked the animal down and had it euthanized.