A Louisiana deer hunter who allegedly shot a radio-collared lynx in Dolores County Sunday is facing charges that could net him up to three years in prison as well as hefty fines.

Lloyd B. Mulkey, 60, of Deridder was arrested by Colorado Division of Wildlife officers Wednesday on charges that included willful destruction of wildlife, a felony, as well as misdemeanor complaints for killing a state-endangered species, shooting from a road and having a loaded weapon on a vehicle, according to court documents. He was released from the Montezuma County Jail on a $50,000 bond Thursday.

DOW officers Dave Harper and Bob Dickman were searching the Glade area along the Dolores River after transmissions from the collar indicated the lynx was dead, Harper recounted in his affidavit, and located the slain cat in an opening near Forest Road 512A next to some fresh ATV tracks.

The lynx, a one-year-old female released near Creede in May, had been shot in the chest, but appeared to have been healthy otherwise.

Mulkey and some hunting companions then drove up on their ATVs and were questioned, Harper said, but all denied any knowledge of the shooting.

After further questioning, however, Mulkey admitted shooting the endangered cat "while sitting on his ATV, while parked on the road," the affidavit said.

"He said that after he shot the lynx, he drove up to it and saw it had a collar on it," it explained. "He said he then realized that he had shot something that he shouldn’t have and went back to camp, abandoning the animal where it died."

The lynx was one of 41 released last winter and spring by the DOW as part of an inter-agency effort to restore the species to Colorado. The animals, which are close cousins to bobcats but prefer high-elevation forests, were captured in Canada and Alaska and transported to a holding pen in the San Luis Valley, then turned loose in the San Juan Mountains near Wolf Creek Pass.

Of those 41,13 are known to be dead, according to division spokesman Todd Malmsbury. Five, all of which were released early, starved to death.

But after biologists changed their procedures and began keeping the animals in captivity longer to ensure their health, the lynx seemed to thrive, and none of the remaining deaths have been attributed to starvation, Malmsbury said.

Two animals died when struck by cars, he said, and four died of unknown causes. Of those four, one was too desiccated to be autopsied, and the remaining three were found through bone-marrow testing to have been receiving adequate nutrition.

The other two mortalities were caused by shootings -- one in the San Luis Valley near Antonito and the one in the Glade. The San Luis Valley shooting has not been solved.

Malmsbury said 20 of the 28 survivors have been monitored within the last three months, and the others may simply have moved beyond the cover range for the radio transmitters.

Some of the animals are roaming far, he said.

"There’s one right now in Nebraska, and another by the Navajo Reservoir in New Mexico," he said. "But most are still in what you might call prime lynx habitat in the southwest quadrant of Colorado."

The DOW is planning to release another 40 or 50 lynx next spring in the second phase of the reintroduction program. Malmsbury said, after the initial disappointment of the early deaths, the effort seems to be on track.

"Members of the advisory team have said this is really doing well," he said. "One said we shouldn’t even consider the first four starvation deaths part of the mortality because it wasn’t a habitat problem, it was due to protocol."

If Mulkey is convicted, he could face up to one year in jail and a fine of as much as $100,000 for killing an endangered species, and up to six years in jail, a fine of $10,000, and a lifetime prohibition against hunting for the felony charge.

In a press release, DOW biologist Gene Byrne said the incident was the first case he was aware of in which a hunter had killed a lynx.

"We’ve had a number of valuable reports from hunters who have called us to say they’ve seen lynx," Byrne said. "We really appreciate these reports from hunters and others who observe lynx."