Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear purchased, as a young cub, at a railroad station in Hamadan, Iran, by Polish II Corps soldiers who had been evacuated from the Soviet Union. In order to provide for his rations and transportation, he was eventually enlisted officially as a soldier with the rank of private, and was subsequently promoted to corporal.

He accompanied the bulk of the Polish Second Corps to Italy, serving with the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, in Italy in 1944, Wojtek helped move crates of ammunition and became a celebrity with visiting Allied generals and statesmen.

After the war, mustered out of the Polish Army, he was billeted, and lived out the rest of his life, at the Edinburgh Zoo.

The name "Wojtek" is a hypocorism (diminutive form) of "Wojciech", an old Slavic name that is still common in Poland today and means "he who enjoys war" or "joyful warrior".

tomorrow is the end of my schoo day so i'm going to be more active