Ahool – The Giant Bat Monster

The island of Java is one densely populated area. It is because of this over population that the island’s beautiful rainforest has been torn down, to make room for the ever-growing human populace. Unfortunately, as the forest dwindles, so too are the chances of discovering new plant and animals that must have been originally abundant in the jungles of Java. One such creature might be the elusive Ahool.

The Ahool is generally considered to be a giant bat-like creature that is said to live in the heavy jungles of Java. It was said that the first ever mention of these creatures was the description of Dr. Ernest Bartels, while he was exploring in the Salak Mountains, which are found in the island of Java. While exploring a waterfall, Bartels suddenly saw a giant bat fly above its head. Two weeks later, Bartels again encountered the creature, this time hearing the noise “a-hool” outside his hut, when he came out to see it, it made the sound again and then flew away. Thanks to this experience, the Ahool got its name.

The Ahool is said to be the size of a 1-year old child but with a wingspan of 12 feet. It reportedly has some thin fur covering its body (a short, dark grey coat), and is said to have the body of a bat but the head of monkey. Some even say that the face of the creature is human-like. It has large black eyes, two flattened forearms that are able to support its gigantic wing, and its feet is said to be pointing backwards.

The Ahools have been known to squat on the forest floors and are believed to be nocturnal animals. This supports the claim of it having huge black eyes, which should help provide a better vision at night. During the daytime, it is usually inside caves or sometimes, behind waterfalls. But at night, it goes out and skims above the rivers of the island, catching large fishes to feed.

Some people say that the Ahool is merely a local species of owl that also has black circles around its eyes, giving the appearance of big, black eyes. Others say it is a pterosaur, while other cryptozoologist says that it is a creature like the Kongamato of Africa (giant bat). No matter what one wants to believe, there is a creature out there but if the destruction of the rainforest continues, the world might never know what it really is.