BANGOR – A Van Buren man who said that his shooting of a lynx was a case of mistaken identity was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 21 days in jail for possessing a federally protected threatened species.

Ricky Learnard, 41, pleaded guilty to the charge, just prior to sentencing.

Learnard told U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk that he had been hunting for grouse near his home in late November 2005 when he shot at what he thought was a bobcat.

“We were inadvertently stalking the same prey,” Learnard said of himself and the lynx. “It was three feet from us, crouched down in tall grass. When it leapt toward the grouse, I shot it in the air. When I went over to look at it and saw its large paws, I knew it was a lynx … Once I knew it was a lynx I did things I shouldn’t have.”

The investigation that led to Learnard’s court appearance began on Jan. 12, 2006, when Kevin L. Fortin, 57, of Van Buren was stopped at the Hamlin border crossing with 30 pelts in the back of his truck. One pelt labeled “bobcat” was a lynx, according to court documents.

The lynx is a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

Under Maine law, open season on bobcats did not begin until Dec. 1, so even if the lynx had been a bobcat, it would have been killed illegally, the judge said.

Fortin told investigators from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the lynx had been shot by Learnard, who had traded the animal to Fortin for a pair of unusual deer antlers. Learnard, according to court documents, later gave the antlers to two people in California, but refused to identify them.

Last month, Fortin was sentenced to seven days in jail and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty in federal court in Bangor to the same charge. Both men faced up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Lowell recommended Thursday that Learnard also be sentenced to seven days in jail, but pay a lesser fine of $1,000 due to his financial circumstances. Learnard is the single father of four children between the ages of 4 and 9 and his only source of income is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

He urged Kravchuk not to impose a fine.

“I hate that my stupid mistake is going to hurt my kids,” Learnard told her. “The money really belongs to them.”

Kravchuk agreed, but the judge also indicated that she found little in Learnard’s actions or his statements in court that would spare him time in jail.

“In my 20 years as a judge in state court, I saw two kinds of hunters,” the judge said. “One was the kind who went into the woods and obeyed the rules. The other was the kind that went into the woods whenever they wanted, shooting something out of season and hoping the wardens weren’t around. I have no choice but to put you in the second category.”

Learnard, whose sentencing was delayed because he was late getting to the federal building in Bangor, apologized to the court and the people of Maine for his actions. He told Kravchuk that although he’d possessed the lynx, he had not “made any money off it.”

“Nobody made any money off it,” the judge replied. “The only thing that happened is there’s one less lynx in Maine and that’s too bad.”

Learnard was ordered to begin serving his sentence on Jan. 10 at the Penobscot County Jail. He remains free on his own recognizance until then.

It could not be determined Thursday whether he is facing state charges for hunting out of season.