After 30 years, Boo at the Zoo's Swamp Monster unmasks and retires
It was the same Air Force veteran in the ghillie suit every year.
CommunityFor 30 years of Boo at the Zoo, the Swamp Monster lurking in the shadows at the Abilene Zoo has been the same person: David Vargo.
Vargo is an Air Force veteran with 20 years of service, including two in the Guard. He spent much of it in Security Police and retired from Dyess Air Force Base in 1997. His costume is a custom, hand-made military sniper's ghillie suit that he turned into a monster.
He has worked in temperatures over 100 degrees and in the 40s. His favorite moment, he says, is when a family tells someone he's just a mannequin and then he moves.
Vargo says the event's seven nights across several weekends have gotten hard. He was offered a lighter schedule but turned it down, because families who only come one night would miss him. His last appearance was the final Boo at the Zoo on Saturday, Oct. 31.
