A small town in the Scottish Borders is home to one of two statues in the country commemorating a Syrian brown bear who served in World War II.
It may sound like something out of a movie, but Wojtek was very much a real animal in the Polish Land Forces. In fact, he was even promoted to the rank of corporal for his services.
Wojtek — also spelled Voytek — started life in the care of a young Iranian boy after its mother was killed by hunters. In 1942, at a railroad station in Iran, the bear came into the care of Polish soldiers, with Lieutenant Anatol Tarnowieckikept deciding to keep and raise the animal.
