MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) - A male ostrich died in a zoo in Russia’s Far East after freezing to the floor of his cage on a cold winter night, the Life News portal said on Monday.

“All our animals are taken care of, but temperatures have been extremely low this winter,” zoo chief Tatyana Kapukhina said. “Of course we have bought and installed additional heating equipment, but it switched off that night because of a short circuit.”

The male ostrich named Adam arrived at the zoo in the Far Eastern city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk zoo seven years ago and has since become its unofficial mascot. A post-mortem revealed that the bird died of hypothermia.

Far Eastern animal rights activists launched their own investigation into the ostrich’s death and requested assistance from the Vita Center for Animal Rights Protection.

Animal rights activist Melissa Malyarzhik said Adam possibly died because zoo workers failed to properly prepare his enclosure for the winter season. During previous winters, the cage floor was covered with a thick layer of hay and manure that acted as thermal insulation, but this year the management opted against it, she said.