Shot Whale
© Associated PressAn Allenhurst Dept of Public Works employee removed the carcass of a 740-pound pilot whale that died shortly after washing up on a beach there.
Allenhurst - Authorities were searching Tuesday for the person who shot a whale that washed up dead on the New Jersey shore.

The 700-pound male pilot whale was discovered on a beach at Allenhurst, N.J., on Sept. 24, The Star-Ledger reported.

A gunshot wound to the animal's jaw caused an infection that prevented it from eating, according to scientists.

"It literally died of starvation," Bob Schoelkopf, founding director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, said.

"It probably traveled quite a distance before it became so weak that it washed ashore," he added.

Authorities were appealing to the public for information.