
23/09/2025
In 1942, Polish soldiers found an orphaned Syrian brown bear cub in Iran and adopted him as their mascot. They named him Wojtek, which means "joyful warrior" in Polish. He quickly became a beloved member of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. As he grew, Wojtek would drink beer from bottles, eat ci******es (he'd swallow them lit!), and wrestle with the soldiers for fun.
When the unit was set to deploy to Italy in 1944, British regulations forbade mascots on the transport ship. To get around the rules, the Polish soldiers officially enlisted Wojtek as a private in their army. He was given his own paybook, rank, and serial number. During the brutal Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek truly became a soldier, carrying heavy crates of artillery shells to the front lines, a task that normally required four men. For his bravery, he was promoted to corporal, and a depiction of a bear carrying a shell was adopted as the official emblem of his company.
After the war, Wojtek lived out his life in the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, where he was a celebrity and frequently visited by his old comrades. This amazing story of friendship, loyalty, and war heroes shows that even in the darkest times, the most unlikely bonds can be forged.