A pure-bred wildcat, thought to be extinct, has been caught on camera in the North-east.

The incredibly rare animal – which has now been named Phoenix – was filmed in the Huntly area, amid a decade-long project to create safe havens for wildcats.

Although the Wildcat Haven project is focused on the West Highlands, it is Aberdeenshire where many people believed they were extinct – until Pheonix was spotted.

Following reports of sightings, Wildcat Haven appointed a local project manager, Kevin Bell, to begin a targeted survey which quickly confirmed a small population of very high purity wildcats.

The latest cat caught in video footage is the first living wildcat to score full marks on a 21-point scale used to identify wildcat purity, and the exceptional quality of the cat has been verified by an independent expert at the National Museums of Scotland.

Most experts had considered the wildcat extinct in the East Highlands due to cross-mating with domestic cats, called hybridisation.

Dr Paul O’Donoghue, chief scientific adviser for Wildcat Haven, said: “It feels a bit like looking at a unicorn.

“This animal is so often described as extinct, bordering on mythical, but we have always been confident they’re still out there, and here’s the evidence coming from quite an unexpected place.

“No one has ever seen a wildcat this good in the wild before, it shows no signs of hybridisation and proves that Scotland’s iconic wildcat, an incredible survivor, is still out there despite all odds.”

Wildcat Haven is currently establishing a monitoring and domestic cat neutering programme in Aberdeenshire to protect the small population.

Kevin, who will be spearheading these efforts, said: “These ghost-cats deserve to live in the wild not in a cage for people to gawp at.

“They’re remote, they’ve stayed hidden and survived, and we’ll do everything we can to ensure it stays that way.”

However Scottish Wildcat Action said the discover was not as rare as first thought.

A spokesman said: “The press release from Wildcat Haven is misleading. Scottish Wildcat Action has already been working with the local community in its Strathbogie ‘Priority Area’ for over two years. Therefore this latest claim is certainly not news to Scottish Wildcat Action, our team of professional, dedicated and hard-working Project Officers, and the many partner organisations we work with.

“In autumn last year we detected 27 cats, six of which were identified as wildcat based on their pelage scores. These cats were found in our Strathbogie wildcat priority area in Aberdeenshire. This information was publicly announced in September 2016 and was reported in the media. Since then a further four wildcats have been discovered in the area, taking the total of known wildcats to 10.

“In 2013/14 we also carried out a scoping survey in Aberdeenshire and identified a wildcat based on its high pelage score (coat markings), which was confirmed by our partners at the National Museum of Scotland. The wildcat shown in this “new,” video is extremely similar to one we have already identified. And in addition our partners from Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit detected wildcats back in 2011.

“Scottish Wildcat Action continues its work to protect one of Scotland’s most endangered species. Our work in Aberdeenshire has already involved the trapping, neutering and release of almost 100 cats, in an area we know to be close to a wildcat population.

“In addition to our extensive field work we feel it’s vital that we have the support of the Scottish wildcat conservation breeding programme and studbook through RZSS. This is another important conservation tool available to Scottish Wildcat Action and one that may be needed if we are to save the species from extinction.

“We would like to continue to focus on conservation action work in the Strathbogie area, and land managers, gamekeepers, farmers, volunteers and members of the public have been hugely supportive of the work we are doing to save these majestic creatures and we would like to thank them for their continued support of the project.”