Supermodel Gisele Bündchen has always been passionate about the environment. Over the weekend, she had an opportunity to put that passion into action when she came across a sea turtle tangled in a net.
Bündchen noticed the animal in need when her dog Onyx started barking at a pile of trash on the beach, she said on Instagram along with a clip of the rescue.
"When I came closer I saw this beautiful turtle turned upside down with a look of hopelessness and exhaustion in her eyes, her body knotted and entangled in a fishing net," the mother of two wrote.
That's when she started to free the reptile from the net, carefully removing its head and fins from the entanglement before picking the turtle up and carrying it to the water.
While she was happy that she was able to help this turtle to safety, Bündchen said the encounter served as a wake-up call of how "we must become more aware of our ways as a species and help protect all animals."
"I pray that we can all rise and remember that the opportunity to change begins with a single act 🙏," Bündchen continued.
Thousands flooded to the comments to show their support for her message, including celebrities like Gigi Hadid, Heidi Klum, Gal Gadot, Alicia Keys, and of course, Bündchen's husband, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
Bündchen is no stranger to the world of environmentalism and animal advocacy. She became a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Program in 2009.
In 2016, she joined the U.N.'s "Wild for Life" campaign and, ironically, selected the sea turtle as her "kindred species."
In Florida, sea turtles face a number of threats including illegal harvesting, habitat encroachment, and pollution, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
If you see an injured, dead or harassed sea turtle or someone disturbing a sea turtle nest, you should call 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922) or report it online.
