Gisele Bündchen Rescues 'Beautiful' Stranded Sea Turtle Trapped in Fishing Net: Watch!
Gisele Bundchen/Instagram
Gisele Bündchen is sharing her remarkable beach rescue of a trapped sea turtle.
Bündchen, 41, posted a video on Instagram Saturday of the moment she helped free a turtle who had become entangled in a fishing net on the beach. In the clip, the supermodel leans over the animal and begins unwrapping the netting caught on its fin.
The turtle, which is flipped on its back in the video, begins to immediately move its flippers as Bündchen gently lifts it up and turns it over onto its stomach.
RELATED: Gisele Bündchen and Kids Give Nod to Dad Tom Brady as 'Tampa Bay Pirates' for Halloween
"Life is a series of opportunities that appear daily, and we choose what to do with them. Today was no different," she wrote in the caption of her post.
Bündchen explained that she came across the turtle while taking a walk with her dog, Onyx.
"Early this morning I was walking on the beach and Onyx started barking at a pile of ocean trash that had washed during high tide," she wrote. "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."
Bündchen continued, "I immediately started to free her from the net that was strangling her, but even after we got her untied, she was too tired to make her way back to the ocean."
Gisele Bundchen/Instagram
Because the turtle was exhausted, Bündchen helped move it closer to the ocean: "I didn't think twice, I just picked her up and carry [sic] her to the water. (amazing how adrenaline can make you stronger!)," she wrote.
The supermodel said she was "relieved and so happy" to watch the turtle "swim away freely," but noted that some animals aren't always so lucky.
RELATED: Gisele Bündchen Says Nature Is 'Essential' to the 'Health and Well-Being' of Children
"There are so many other animals that unfortunately end up dying on nets like this. Today I was reminded that we must become more aware of our ways as a species and help protect all animals, it's our choice," she wrote. "I pray that we can all rise and remember that the opportunity to change begins with a single act 🙏."
Tristar Media/Getty
Bündchen's act of compassion comes not long after the model joined the U.N.'s "Wild for Life" campaign, in which she chose a sea turtle as her "kindred species." The campaign, which launched in 2016, aims to protect endangered species against illegal wildlife trading.
In an essay published that year in the Huffington Post, Bündchen called nature "our teacher," and explained how her passion for wildlife made her who she is today.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"Animals are part of all our worlds and most people who care deeply about animals, the environment, and the planet have had a transformative moment in nature during childhood," she wrote. "My own experiences of connecting with nature and animals have shaped the person I am today."
"Nature never ceases to inspire me, and it is where I escape to recharge," Bündchen continued. "It has both intrinsic power and the ability to move us beyond selfish pursuits to see the interconnection and interdependence in life."
