Where the manatee once swam

Every time I see this enclosure, it amazes me that three more of less full grown manatees were kept in it in the nineties...

I don't think the manatees did much swimming in there... more like just laying around in water and muck...

Definitely puzzling that this was a reality not even all that long ago.

And while it is now used as tortoise terrarium, I seem to remember from my visits to Artis some years ago that it was also for a while used as an aquarium with African fish.

@KevinB true about the fish. After the last manatee - the 3,5 year old Bertus, the son of Joop and a female I don't know the name of - moved to Randers in 2002, some cichlids were kept in this bassin. After a period with cane toads, it's now inhabited by tortoises.

@AWP Bit late, but I can also recall that redtail catfish were also kept in this enclosure at some point after the mantees left.