Corporal Wojtek: The Soldier Bear of the 22nd Company

During World War II, soldiers of the Polish II Corps adopted an orphaned bear cub named Wojtek in Iran, raising him as a morale-boosting mascot who mimicked human behaviors like drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. To travel with the troops to Italy, Wojtek was officially enlisted as a soldier and famously supported his unit during the Battle of Monte Cassino by carrying crates of ammunition to the artillerymen. After the war, the bear was relocated to Scotland and eventually lived in the Edinburgh Zoo, where he remained a beloved figure and symbol of the exiled Polish soldiers until his death in 1963.