Minnesota Zoo welcomes Snooki the sea turtle

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Snooki the sea turtle is now calling the Minnesota Zoo home. (Minnesota Zoo)

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Zoo is now the home of a loggerhead sea turtle named Snooki, in a nod to the "Jersey Shore" star.

Snooki moves into the Minnesota Zoo

Local perspective:

The Minnesota Zoo says the 310-pound loggerhead sea turtle named Snooki, with a "big personality and an even bigger splash," now calls the Apple Valley zoo its home.

Snooki was rescued in 2016 after being stranded in New Jersey, hence the name Snooki in a nod to the "Jersey Shore" star. Snooki was rehabilitated at Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in North Carolina.

However, Snooki's buoyancy issues made it so she couldn't be released back into the wild.

Now, the sea turtle will live in the zoo's 250,000-gallon Atlantic Reef habitat.

What they're saying:

"She’ll be a great ambassador and an iconic symbol of conservation," said Kathy Zagzebski, Executive Director of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.