The Most Decorated Cat in Military History
(Image via Maritime Quest)
On rare occasions, Britain's People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) awards a military decoration to an animal serving with that nation's armed forces. The Dickin Medal, as it is known, was established in 1943. At the beginning, it was mostly commonly given to pigeons that carried messages under fire. Many bomb-detecting dogs, such as this Labrador retriever, have also received this honor.
But only one cat.
That cat was Able Seacat Simon of the Royal Navy. He was the ship's cat on board HMS Amethyst, a frigate that was trapped on the Yangtse River in China for three months of 1949 during the Chinese Civil War. Simon was responsible for killing rats on the ship and maintaining morale.
(Photo: Acabashi)
At one point, the ship had been badly damaged and taken heavy casualties from Red Chinese artillery. Despite being sorely wounded, Simon kept working:
Simon was immediately taken to the medic, stitched up, and began a long healing process -- but the cat could hardly wait to get back to his military duties. The ship’s boilers and fans had shut down as a result of the onslaught, and the rats ran freely through the ventilation system; during Simon’s absence, they had infested food supplies, invaded living quarters, and made life a greater hell for surviving crew members.
Despite his injuries, Simon quickly got to business. His first night back, he had two confirmed kills, and within a few days’ time, he’d succeeded in clearing the deck of critters. But one foe remained: A gargantuan rat the crew had nicknamed “Mao Tse-tung.” For weeks, the scoundrel had avoided traps and gnawed his way through sealed food. Simon would have none of it. When the cat finally met his nemesis in the storeroom, he pounced, killed it, and proudly dropped it by the mens' boots. From then on, the crew hailed him as “Able Seacat Simon” -- the first (and so far, only) military title ever given to a feline.
When the Amethyst finally escaped to the sea, the Royal Navy awarded Simon a campaign ribbon. The PDSA bestowed a Dickin Medal on Simon. Sadly, he died before he could receive it. He was buried with full military honors at a cemetery in East London.
You can read more about Simon and his remarkable life at Priceonomics.
We hope you like this article!
Please help us grow by sharing:
Get Updates In Your Inbox
Free weekly emails, plus get access
to subscriber-only prizes.
Comments (0)
The M is for Man-eating.
Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're
overrun by lizards?
Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese
needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous
type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around,
the gorillas simply freeze to death.
When a new species is introduced to an area, it can often make an easy living. Organisms that are not a problem in the area in which they evolved can overrun the natives when they find themselves in new locations. They have an easy time of it, squeeze out native species, and breed like crazy.
Eventually however, the presence of these invaders who become so plentiful becomes an opportunity for another species, one that preys on the invader. The predator might itself be an introduced species, or it might be an existing organism that has adapted and stepped up to the task/free lunch offered by the invasive species.
Yes, over time, these things have a way of working themselves out. But the span of time required can be longer that is convenient for human activities. And certainly much diversity is lost along the way.
Humans have been responsible for the introduction of so many organisms into new locations. Sometimes it is intentional, like the cane toads. Sometimes introductions are a by-product of other activities such as Eurasian plants brought to the Americas as seed in animal fodder or larval stages of marine organisms in ballast tanks.
In most cases, we've lost diversity, a lot of diversity. The case of the cane toads is a rare one in that people pay attention to it. They don't so much notice the difference in the assemblage of weeds in roadside ditches, or the loss of native bee species.
It's a pity. Sadly it is rather inevitable.