Senior Zoologist Jack Tilis, 27, is more at risk from the heat than the animals in his care. A New Jersey native, he’s spent the past two years adjusting to North Texas summers.
His days are spent facing off against an unforgiving sun, preparing outdoor animal enclosures for the hippos, giraffes, okapi and other hoofstock species, and moving critters to cooler spaces. The hottest day of his life, he said, came two weeks ago when temperatures neared 110 degrees.
“But I love what I do so I put up with it,” he said with a shrug as he unloaded a cart of hay into the hippo habitat.
On Wednesday, Aug. 5, reporters and photographers from The Dallas Morning News followed more than a dozen people as they navigated a 100-degree day in North Texas. From a zookeeper and technician, to a toddler and retiree, their lives shared little in common. They were strangers, sweltering under the same relentless sun. Find their stories here.