Quimera. The biography of a Balearic shearwater
Luis Resines of Pelopanton uses the language of the comic to narrate the adventures of a 30-year-old Balearic shearwarter. The Balearic shearwater is a seabird closely related with petrels and albatrosses. Only nesting in the Balearic Islands, including the National Park of Cabrera, it’s Europe’s most endangered seabird. Demersal longline is catching hundreds of seabirds in the western Mediterranean and is threatening the viability of the Balearic shearwater.
“Conservation is about arguments and feelings”. A comic is an excellent way to connect us to the fascinating natural history of our seabirds, and to engage in taking action to save them.
Quimera is a fiction character based on a real bird. In the comic, Quimera is female 30-year-old shearwater. The real Quimera is a male shearwater ringed as a pullus in a colony off the north coast of Mallorca in 1986. That year the Halley comet was visible in the night sky of Mallorca.
The comic is about the adventures of Quimera and her friends. Her fist contact with a human is a scientist that rings her. She also visits Cabrera when it was used as an army firing range.
We don’t want to reveal the plot of Quimera. The comic is now only available in Catalan, but we hope it will be available soon in English. The drawings are wonderful, and the story is very easy to follow.
A paper version can be obtained free in the office of the regional environmental government.
It’s also available online as a PDf file.
Quimera is a project funded by the Balearic Government Sustainable Tourist Tax