Wojtek the bear

You might think a bear is a wild animal that just runs free, but this bear is a helping soldier. This bear was named Wojtek; he was born in 1942 during World War 2, found by  Polish soldiers. A little boy came up to the Polish soldiers and asked them if they had any food he could have. Later that day, they noticed there was something moving in the boy's bag. Then, a little baby cub crawled out of the bag.

The soldiers traded the little boy their chocolate, a can of meat and a Swiss knife for that little cub. After a little while later the soldiers got connected to the bear (Wojtek) because they shared the same past together: the Polish soldiers were kicked out of the Soviet Union and Wojtek was abandoned by his mother.

The soldiers would feed him canned meat and condensed milk from an empty bottle of vodka. When the soldiers and the bear would get back to their base they would hide him in their tent so nobody could notice him. But one day Wojtek went outside to chase birds but then bumped into one of the generals. Thankfully  the generals let him stay because of the connection he had with the soldiers. Later on in his life he became a soldier and helped them carry big heavy boxes. Wojtek really likes playing in the shower room, once when he was in there he saw a spy and chased him down, and all the soldiers rewarded him with unlimited showers. Wojtek was really brave and bears were not supposed to accompany soldiers, but the Polish made him one.

When they went to the deadliest of all battles, he wasn't doing much until he saw the soldiers struggling to carry huge boxes. He would stand up on his two back legs and help carry the big boxes full of shells and gun emplacements from the lorries. The soldiers made a banner of a bear carrying shells.

In 1945, when the war ended, the Polish soldiers couldn't take Wojtek with them so he ended up in the Edinburgh zoo .He became a celebrity and every time he heard the word Polish he would stand up on his two back legs and wave to everyone. He was often visited by the Polish soldiers, and they all said they recognized him. He passed away in 1963 at the age of 22.

Wojtek is important to me because he helped my family's country. He inspires me to be helpful to other people even if they are mean or dislike me.Wojtek is a Hero.