Video: Gisele Bündchen Rescues a Sea Turtle Trapped in Fishing Gear
[Brief] Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen is known best for her career in fashion, and her appearance has graced the covers of more than 1,200 magazines over the years, but she is also a prominent environmental philanthropist and activist. So when she encountered a sea turtle ensnared in a pile of longline fishing gear on the beach, she took the opportunity to do the right thing.
"Early this morning I was walking on the beach and [my dog] Onyx started barking at a pile of ocean trash that had washed during high tide. 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 wrote in a social media post Saturday.
The turtle came free with a bit of work, but it needed some assistance to get back to the water.
"She was too tired to make her way back to the ocean. I didn’t think twice, I just picked her up and carry her to the water," Bündchen said. "I felt relieved and so happy to see her swim away freely, grateful that I was there and able to help."
She noted that bycatch and ghost gear are persistent threats to marine life, and that more can be done to minimize harm.
Top image: Gisele Bundchen at the 2014 UNEP Champions of the Earth award ceremony (Raffy Bundchen / CC BY SA 4.0)
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