Free Wojtek the Bear [paperback] by Aileen; Orr Page A

Wojtek wasn’t fussy about what he ate, as long as there was plenty of it. Like his breed, he was omnivorous; he would eat almost any type of food including
carrion, fish, birds, meat, grasses, fruit, root vegetables, fibrous roots, wild berries, broad-leaved plants and shrubs, tree leaves, and, when he could get them, grubs, ants and honey. In the
ground, on the ground or above the ground, it really didn’t matter: Wojtek was up for eating it, although his first port of call was always the camp cookhouse.
    About 80 per cent of his diet was vegetarian. In their transit camp, before they moved to the Borders, it cannot always have been easy for the soldiers to ensure their comrade was getting the 40
to 80 pounds of vegetable fodder he required daily. When the company moved to its new home, Winfield Camp, it still remained a considerable challenge for them until country folk started dropping in
atthe camp with scraps for the bear. As for Wojtek, he quickly adapted to Borders life, foraging for leaves and plants until there was hardly any greenery left on the trees
and bushes in the immediate vicinity of the camp.
    Although a very clean bear, his eating habits were quite childlike. First he would pick out the items of food he really liked, leaving to last the less interesting fodder. Although far away from
his native nectarines, apricots and other exotic fruits, his diet was as good as any in the district. He received many gifts of food from visitors. He had a keen nose for any crumbs which might be
lingering in a pocket or a handbag, so there were often raids on unsuspecting visitors’ clothing and property. Though he received severe reprimands for his attempted thefts, the temptation
was always there and he would nearly always succumb to it.
    At the camp, special sleeping quarters for Wojtek were built: a small wooden hut which the men speedily knocked up for him and lined with straw. From his new home there was much for the bear to
see. The prickly Scottish blackthorn hedges nearby were a new phenomenon for Wojtek, and he soon learned they offered considerable entertainment from the wildlife which inhabited them. He would
stare at the hedges for hours, watching birds hop around inside them. Occasionally rabbits and hares passed through, as did the odd fox. From time to time sheep would become entangled in them and
cattle would come along to eat the long grasses beside the hedge boundaries. Since his hut was situated between two hedges he had a great view of the local wildlife. For an easily bored bear this
must have been the equivalent of watching TV.
    Wojtek was especially good at being still if he had to be. He would flatten himself on the ground, watching andlistening. When the sparrows became too cocky, too noisy
and, most crucially, too close, suddenly a furry apparition would rise up and pounce, with little thought of the consequences other than satisfying a deep call from the wild. The process would be
repeated many times, much to the detriment of the hedges. Eventually they died a slow but natural death because of his depredations and fences had to be erected. The wildlife show was over.
However, new forms of entertainment were eventually found and, besides, there were always the hedges on the other side of the road.
    Long before the hedges vanished, Wojtek had his own scouting methods down pat. Perched up a tree, he would scan the camp entrance for any interesting developments. From his vantage point, Wojtek
had an uncanny knack of identifying visitors who were arriving at Winfield Camp with food. Actually, it was not his sight, which like that of all bears was poor, but his acute sense of smell which
resulted in him making a swift descent from his tree to swoop upon the newcomer.
    For those who knew Wojtek, the enthusiastic welcome they received was not unexpected. He would rear to his full height, wave his paws about and perform a quick roll of submission on the ground
before bounding towards