Gisele Bundchen: Supermodel draws praise after rescuing sea turtle caught in fishing net

Gisele Bundchen went from supermodel to superhero after saving a sea turtle tangled in a fishing net.

Bundchen, 41, posted a video of the rescue to her Instagram on Saturday.

"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 post.

The mother-of-two said she came across the turtle while walking her dog, Onyx.

While on the walk, 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," Bundchen wrote.

In the clip, Bundchen can be seen removing the netting from the turtle, who was upside down, and flipping the turtle over once it was freed. Bundchen then carries the turtle, flapping its flippers, to the water.

Bundchen said she carried the large turtle to the ocean because it was too tired to return on its own.

"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," she wrote.

She said the encounter reminded her of all the animals who are not freed from human debris and die, and that humans must protect animals.

"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.

Celebrities were quick to praise the supermodel, with Gal Gadot commenting "Queen" and Heidi Klum adding "I love you".

Lewis Hamilton, Gigi Hadid, and her superstar quarterback husband Tom Brady simply commented hearts to show their appreciation for the heat warming act.

Bundchen has previously expressed a connection with sea turtles. The model recently joined the UN's "Wild for Life" campaign. As part of the campaign, Bundchen selected an animal as her "kindred species".