A Canadian man punched a cougar in the face to stop it attacking his dog, police have said.

The incident occurred in a wooded area near a fast food chain in Whitecourt, central Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Wednesday.

William Gibb, 31, from Red Deer, Alberta, had stopped at a Tim Hortons outlet on his 372-mile drive to Grand Prairie on the evening of 26 December and had let his dog out for a walk, Whitecourt RCMP Sgt Tom Kalis said.

Shortly after, Gibb heard the 36kg (80lbs) female husky whimpering in pain and found a cougar pinning her to the ground.

“He punched the cougar, yelled at it and got it to release the dog. Then he called the police,” Kalis said. “He was quite lucky.”

Gibb kept the cougar at bay and tended to his injured dog until police arrived and killed the cougar. The dog needed medical attention but Gibb was not seriously injured, RCMP said.

Kalis said cougar sightings were not uncommon around Whitecourt because the town is surrounded by forests, but it is unusual for cougars to attack dogs or other animals.