I just found out I passed a huge licensing exam (similar to the Bar, took me almost a year to complete all the parts) so I’d love to celebrate with a fun fact this week! Hit me with it!
Good job on passing! I was going to save this for a big occasion, and I think this applies, so! Today You Learned about Wojtek!
Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear, orphaned as a cub in 1942, and adopted by Polish soldiers in exile in Iran after the Soviet invasion. After some time in a Polish refugee camp, Wojtek became a mascot for the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and they were the ones to name him (his name means "Happy Warrior" if you're curious). They also fed him, which, uh... I don't know that they did a great job, as he apparently drank a lot of beer and ate cigarettes, as well as, like, actual food.
And during the Italian Campaign, he went with his unit to Italy, and served at the Battle of Monte Cassino.
That's right, Wojtek was a bear that fought the Nazis.
Okay, so Wojtek didn't see combat, but he carried supplies and ammunition. And being, y'know, a bear, he was able to carry much heavier loads than humans could. Some argued that his contributions were exaggerated by his unit, but there is a British soldier who admitted to seeing a bear carrying ammunition.
After the war, he and his unit went to Scotland, where they were popular with locals. Wojtek eventually retired to the Edinburgh Zoo. He was a popular attraction, a national celebrity, and supposedly responded to Polish speech with visible happiness, and could recognize soldiers from his old unit.
He died in 1963.
There are memorials of him in Poland and Scotland, because, like... yeah, a bear who fought Nazis. Who doesn't want to see that?!
Also there's a preschool in Warsaw, Poland named after him.
