This life size statue of a Polish soldier and a bear commemorates Wojtek  who was made a Private and then a Corporal in the Polish Army during WW2.
According to a sign nearby
In 1942 Polish soldiers, who had escaped the Nazi occupation of their country and the labour camps of Siberia, adopted an orphaned brown bear they found as the Anders Army passed through Iran under British command. Wojtek grew up amongst them, enjoying wrestling matches and developing a taste for beer and cigarettes.  In order to keep him with them, they had him officially drafted into the army as a Private, given his own pay book, rank and serial number.
Untroubled by gunfire, Wojtek helped to carry ammunition at the Italian Battle of Monte Cassino, one of the hardest fought battles of World War 11.  Allied troops finally broke the German defensive line, but sustained enormous losses. ……    Like many of his heroic countrymen, after the war, Wojtek settled in Scotland.  He lived out his years in Edinburgh Zoo, until his much mourned death in 1963.
For another statue and more information about Wojtek see  Swannie's entry and here.

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