Bata pledges millions to tag Nairobi National Park lions

Multinational footwear manufacturer, Bata, has pledged millions of shillings to finance fixing of collars on lions in the Nairobi National Park over the next five years.

Bata Africa president Alberto Errico said the campaign dubbed ‘Collar a Lion’ seeks to ease human-wildlife conflict in the Nairobi ecosystem by creating ready data that would enhance lion monitoring.

“The entire world was shocked to read about lions roaming freely in a city and that made us come up with a strategy to avert human-wildlife conflict by sponsoring electronic collar tags for the lions,” he said.

Bata operates a shoe factory and leather tannery in Limuru where it produces, official, casual and shoe polish, among other products that it sells locally and broad. Among its top brands are Safari boots, North Star, Toughees and a variety of ladies shoes.

The shoe maker also pledged to promote Kenya’s rich wildlife across its markets in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America where it operates 5,200 branches in 70 countries.

Bata will also display lion portraits in all its shops and use its online platforms to disseminate realtime information on lion movements at Nairobi National Park.

Upon successful collaring of the nearly 35 lions, Mr Errico said the partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service will be scaled up to include the 1,980 lions at other wildlife sanctuaries at an estimated cost of Sh15 million.

KWS director-general Kitili Mbathi said use its export products as a platform to market its wildlife would not only promote tourism but also help in conservation efforts.