Nightmarish 12-foot wingspan monster bats hunt for human flesh

Artist’s depiction of Ahool attacking human

The jungle has a thousand ways to kill you and none of them are pleasant. ~ Anonymous

The gigantic Bismark flying fox is officially the largest bat known to exist. It makes its home in Asia.

Yet a true monster bat may exist–a virtual flying terror–the megabat called the Ahool. The nightmarish creature is sought by some of the world’s top crypozoologists.

With a body the size of a small child, and a reported 12- to 15-foot wingspan, the Ahool dwarfs all other bats. It’s been said to viciously attack livestock and men and has been reported to feed off human infants, although by most accounts it primarily eats fish.

Stone sculpture of an Ahool

The first Westerner witness

Although seen and reported for centuries by natives inhabiting the region of Java where the creature is said to dwell, the first Westerner witnessed the Ahool during the first quarter of the 20th Century.

During 1925, Dr. Ernest Bartels–son of the noted ornithologist M.E.G. Bartels–recorded the first known description this legendary Javanese animal. According to the doctor’s notes, he first saw a gigantic bat-like creature swoop over a waterfall in the foothills of the Salek mountains. Several years after the first sighting, Bartels again spotted the monster. That time he also heard its distinctive cry: “a-hooool.” The creature’s name was adopted from its hunting cry.  

Physiology of the creature

As decribed by natives, the Ahool appears like a monstrous bat-like animal about the size of a one-year old human. Although all agree the creature has the body of a bat, some insist that its head is more similar to that of a money’s than a bat’s. A few descriptions from eyewitness testimony over the years even descibes the face of the creature to look eerily human. The face is said to have two large, shiny black eyes.

Its wingspan has been estimated between 12 to 15 feet, although most reports peg it as no more than 12 feet. Two flattish forearms support the immense wings.

Curiously, many of the documented sightings report that the creature’s feet appear to be pointing backwards.

A thin, darkish coat of hair covers the creature. Most reports describe the color as grey, although some witnessers swear it was brownish. The discrepency in color may be due to the angle of the sun and shadows during the sightings.
 

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