Adoption In the spring of 1942, the newly formed
Anders' Army left the
Soviet Union for Iran, accompanied by thousands of Polish civilians who had been deported to the Soviet Union following the 1939
Soviet invasion of eastern Poland. On the journey from
Pahlavi to
Tehran, Iran, on 8 April 1942, Polish soldiers encountered a young Iranian boy who had found a bear cub whose mother had been shot by hunters. In August, the bear was donated to the 2nd Transport Company, which later became the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and he was named Wojtek by the soldiers.
Nutrition and growth Wojtek initially had problems swallowing and was fed
condensed milk from an old vodka bottle. He was subsequently given fruit, marmalade, honey, and syrup, and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favourite drink. He later also enjoyed smoking (or eating) cigarettes, as well as drinking coffee in the mornings. He also slept with the other soldiers if they were cold at night. He enjoyed wrestling with the soldiers and was taught to salute when greeted. He became an attraction for soldiers and civilians alike, and soon became an unofficial
mascot to all the units stationed nearby. With the 22nd Company, he moved to Iraq, and then through Syria,
Palestine, Egypt and
Italy.
Soldier Wojtek From Egypt, the
Polish II Corps was reassigned to fight alongside the
British Eighth Army, famous from North African battles such as
El Alamein and from the
Italian campaign. Regulations for the British transport ship that was to carry them to Italy forbade mascot and pet animals. To get around this restriction, Wojtek was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a
private and listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. Henryk Zacharewicz and Lew Worzowski were assigned as his caretakers. ammunition crate, which held four shells As an enlisted soldier with his own paybook, rank, and serial number, he lived with the other men in tents or in a special wooden crate, which was transported by truck. During the
Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped his unit convey ammunition by carrying crates of
25-pound artillery shells, never dropping any of them. While this story generated debate over its accuracy, at least one account exists of a British soldier recalling seeing a bear carrying crates of ammunition. The bear mimicked the soldiers: when he saw the men lifting crates, he copied them. Wojtek carried boxes that normally required four men, which he would stack onto a truck or other ammunition boxes. After the Polish victory, Wojtek became a celebrity among visiting Allied generals and statesmen. This service also earned him promotion to the rank of
corporal. In recognition of Wojtek's popularity, a depiction of a bear carrying an artillery shell was adopted as the official emblem of the 22nd Company. Wojtek died 2 December 1963, aged 21 of natural causes, weighing nearly , and reaching over tall. ==Legacy==