Wojtek was an orphaned Syrian brown bear found in Iran around 1942
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Purchased by a Polish refugee he was later donated to the Polish Army at just under a year old.
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Though he initially was adopted by a coop of units, eventually it was 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps that he was drafted into at the rank of corporal.
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After corporal Wojtek was weened off of his diet of condensed milk fed to him via empty vodka bottles, he settled on a diet of fruit, marmalade, honey and syrup
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His favorite drink became beer. Corporal Wojtek also enjoyed eating cigarettes.
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His hobbies included wrestling...
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Staring contests...
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Over the road truck driving...
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Bearbacking...
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Coversation...
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And during the Battle of Monte Cassino actually hauled crates of ammunition.
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After the battle his units official emblem was changed to a bear carrying an artillery shell.
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After the war had ended he, and part of his unit were relocated to Berwickshire, Scotland.
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In 1947 his unit was demobilized and he was donated to the Edinburgh Zoo where he would spend the remainder of his life.
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Corporal Wojtek would pass away in 1963, he was 22.
