The Bear that Bear-d Arms

 The story of the Wojtek is a perfect little microcosm of mutually beneficial domestication between two unlikely groups: the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the II Corps of the Polish army, and a bear. In Augustin Fuentes’ “The Creative Spark” he describes the domestication of animals, primarily wolves, as a process that started as an unintentional evolutionary mutualism, but turned into an intentional, creative process for both species involved. Although turning an apex predator into man’s best friend took tens of thousands of years, Wojtek’s story is a bit more concise. 

1942 – Iran

A group of Polish soldiers, recently released from a Soviet Gulag, begin their journey to Italy to join the allied campaign, when they stumble upon a young shepherd with an orphaned bear cub. The cub was for sale! For the low, low price of a Swiss Army knife, a tin of canned beef, and some chocolate, the soldiers adopted Wojtek. As Wojtek grew, he was fed fruit, marmalade, and condensed milk out of a vodka bottle. The company also imparted some of their habits onto the bear cub, who gained a taste for beer and cigarettes. A soldier named Peter Prendys took a liking to Wojtek and trained him to salute, wave, march, and ride in trucks. 

1943 – Palestine

A species used to the cold, brown bears are not acclimatized to mediterranean summers. To cope, Wojtek loved to take cold showers, and eventually learned to turn the water on and off by himself. When his water use became excessive, the soldiers banned the bear from showering alone. One June day, Wojtek, trying to get into the showers, found an enemy spy trying to locate the weapons arsenal in order to raid it. The bear terrified the soldier, causing him to scream, be found by the company, and surrender immediately. In exchange for his service to the company, Wojtek received two bottles of beer, and his shower ban was lifted.

1944 – en-route to Italy

Wojtek, who the company hadn’t revealed to army higher-ups, was found out. Pets weren’t allowed in the army. In order to skirt the rules, Wojtek’s position in the army is made official, and he is promoted to Private. 

1944 – Monte Cassino, Italy

In May of 1944, a series of four battles took place between allied and axis forces in Monte Cassino, Italy. The 22nd Artillery Supply Company was shipped in, and brought Wojtek along. The terrain was rough, and the outlook was glum. Allied powers had already tried and failed to break the Nazi stronghold on the German Gustav line in order to liberate Rome, but this time was different. There was a bear there. Wojtek, able to navigate the mountainous battle fields more easily than his human companions, carried artillery shells back and forth to the front lines. This helped, but arguably more importantly was his ability to keep morale high. Eventually, the Allies were victorious, Rome was liberated, and another step was made towards the end of the war. For his service, Wojtek is made corporal. 

After the war, Wojtek retired with the rest of his company in Scotland, where he lived out his life happily in the Edinburgh Zoo.

    

    Fuentes would agree that not only do we shape the animals around us, as the soldiers shaped Wojtek, but “they also tapped into our community niche and used some of our own physiology to shape us.” (Fuentes 109) The soldiers and the Wojtek made each other's lives immeasurably better. Wojtek went from an orphaned bear cub, destined to a life as a dancing bear in a circus, to a corporal with a cushy retirement, and the soldiers went from lonely and scared to entertained and comforted by an unlikely friend.