Edinburgh Zoo has been home to some truly special animals over the years. Today, it is home to Major General Sir Nils Olav III, a knighted penguin, now a mascot of the Norwegian King’s Guard (he has honorary medals and everything). Edinburgh Zoo also hosted Wojtek, a Syrian brown bear who was a soldier in the Polish army during the Second World War.
Wojtek served in the army between 1943 and 1945, initially as private, which is the lowest rank, and later received a promotion to corporal. The bear was found as a cub whose mother was dead in Iran by Polish soldiers who were part of the Soviet Union army at the time, and was taken in by a great-niece of a Polish general. Later, Wojtek was enlisted in the army and enjoyed wrestling with other soldiers, drinking beer and coffee, smoking and eating cigarettes, as well as eating honey, syrup and marmalade.
Wojtek served during the Battle of Monte Casino in Italy in 1944, where he weighed 90 kilograms at that point, helping move crates and huge ammunition boxes that would require four people to carry. Deservingly, the bear got promoted to corporal after the battle.
After the war ended, Wojtek was then transported to Scotland in 1945, and moved to the Edinburgh Zoo in 1947 where he lived until his death in 1963. The former soldier became an honorary member awarded by the Polish-Scottish Association, receiving lots of attention from both the press and former Polish soldiers. For many years, Wojtek still recognised his fellow soldiers from his unit and understood when spoken to in Polish. He would also eat any tossed cigarettes, as old habits die hard. However, December 2, 1963, was his last day, at the age of 21, weighing almost 500 kilograms.
Wojtek has become quite the hero, with multiple statues still remaining to this day dedicated to the bear soldier. Edinburgh has one of its own, located at West Princes Street Gardens. The 2015 statue commemorates both the beloved animal and the brave soldiers who fought alongside him during the war, as well as the resulting close-knit ties between Poland and Scotland as a result.