Goldilocks may have stumbled upon the home of the three little bears in the classic children's story, but this time it was the other way around — and the bears weren't nearly as friendly.
A Pine, Colorado, couple was forced to fight off a mother bear with their bare hands and a baseball bat after the animal broke into their house with her cub, reports CBS Denver.
Jon Johnson, 71, was downstairs in his home watching television with his wife George Field on Monday night when he heard noises coming from upstairs, according to a Colorado Parks & Wildlife news release. Johnson went into his kitchen to investigate the sounds and came face-to-face with the bear chomping on a loaf of bread, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office told CBS Denver.
"It was growling, I was growling. Between the two of us we were having a lot of attitude,"Johnson told the outlet. The bear, who the couple said broke in through their screen door, then began attacking the man.
"She swatted me in the nose," recounted Johnson. "She was down here, she was low when she swatted me. I turned around I punched her in the nose. From that point we started going back-and-forth like a dance. She took some swipes here, swipe on my chest."
Field then rushed to help, grabbing a baseball bat and swinging at the animal.
"I missed the big bear fight," she said, according to CBS Denver. "All I remember seeing was a big brown blob in front of me. I empowered myself. I've never been that strong. I whacked that bear as strong as I could. You would have thought I was a Louisville slugger."
After the battle, the bear and her cub ran out of the screen door.
"I was so scared for his life you have no idea," said Field.
The Colorado Parks & Wildlife confirmed that Johnson endured a number of lacerations on his face, chest and both arms. He was treated at the scene.
Authorities located a bear in the nearby area and it was euthanized Tuesday, but the cub has not been located. When a bear attacks a person, resulting in injury, the bear must be euthanized, per Colorado Parks & Wildlife policy.
