Manatihaus (Manatee House), Nuremberg Zoo

The Manatihaus grew out of the same project as Nuremberg Zoo's dolphin lagoon. Planning began in autumn 2005 and construction in September 2008; the two facilities were built at the same time and share common technical infrastructure, and the Zoolex database puts the cost of the whole complex at 31 million euros.

The manatee hall opened on 31 July 2011, following the completion of the dolphin lagoon, to which it is connected. Conceived as a South American forest that visitors cross on walkways, it makes the manatees the flagship species of a community of about 45 animal species.

In 2017 the hall closed for three weeks of renovation work and reopened on 25 May. In 2022 the Zoolex record of the building, reviewed by the zoo, listed two male and two female Caribbean manatees, as well as two male white-faced sakis.

The hall covers 700 m², half of it, 350 m², taken up by water; its footprint is about 22.5 by 32.5 m according to Wikipedia, and its height varies from 4.5 to 8.2 m. Instead of glass, the roof is a four-layer membrane that lets through 95 per cent of ultraviolet rays. The manatee pool is up to 4.5 m deep and holds about 675 m³ of water according to Zoolex, 700 m³ according to other sources.

According to Zoolex, the air is kept year-round between 25 and 33 °C, with 60 to 100 per cent humidity and water at 23 to 27 °C; Wikipedia gives 24 to 32 °C for the air, about 70 per cent humidity and 26 to 28 °C for the water. The visitor route follows several wooden bridges at canopy level, from which the manatees are seen from above. In the Blue Salon, two underwater windows measuring 5.5 by 2.7 m allow them to be watched below the surface, in front of moulded roots representing three types of tropical tree.

The stars of the hall are the Caribbean manatees (Trichechus manatus). They share the space with white-faced sakis, green iguanas, river turtles (Podocnemis unifilis), hummingbirds, leaf-cutter ants, poison dart frogs and cichlids; some twenty butterfly species, including blue morphos, fly freely, and Wikipedia also mentions flower bats. In all, about 45 animal species are shown.

The vegetation includes more than 50 species, all South American: natural lianas up to 12 m long, epiphytes fixed on structures of robinia wood, and cultivated plants such as cacao, papaya, passion fruit and pineapple.

The Manatihaus stands in Nuremberg Zoo, in the east of the city, and connects with the dolphin lagoon built at the same time. Humid warmth reigns there all year, which makes it a welcome stop in cold weather, provided light clothing is worn under a coat.

The Blue Salon, with its underwater windows, offers close views of the manatees, while the walkways give a view down onto the pool. The walk continues naturally to the open-air pools of the dolphin lagoon.