The Ahool

 The ahool, named after it's call of 'ahoool', is a supposedly giant bat. It's said to live deep in the Java rainforest and can be found across most of Indonesia.

It is said to be the size of a small child (around 4ft),leather wings with an astounding wingspan of 12ft (3m). It's covered in short grey fur, has large black eyes, a flat face that makes it almost like a monkey. It has been seen squatting on the forest floor, it's feet appearing to point backwards.

The ahool is said to be nocturnal creature, sleeping in caves during the day. It feeds on fish but has been know to attack large mammals, including humans.

 Some researchers have said that the ahool could be a living pterosaur, a flying reptile that was last alive during the time of the dinosaurs, some 65 million years ago. The description of the ahool does match what we currently know of about the pterosaur. A third theory, although less popular, is that this maybe the worlds first reported case of a flying primate. But the overall thought is agreed that the ahool is most likely a form of unknown giant bat.

 The naturalist Dr. Ernest Bartel had the first reported account with the ahool in 1925. He was exploring near the Salek mountains when an unknown giant bat flew directly over his head. It was another two years before he would have another encounter with the ahool, he was sleeping in a hut close to the Tjidjenkol river when he heard the cry of the bat directly over head, he proceeded outside to see if he could see the bat, it called out again but came from an incredible distance downstream.

At one point the good Doctor had thought that the creature may not have been a bat but possibly a large owl. This theory didn't go down well with others and assured him that they where capable of distinguishing between a bat and a bird. This could fit in with what some people think. The appearance and behavior matches the Javan wood-owl to the ahool's. Observer error by being dive-bombed in remote gloomy forests and the wing-span can be greatly over estimated from far away or when swooping down could be matched with the owls as well as they look grey from below, having flat faces and big black eyes with dark feathers that ring the eyes that can make them look even bigger.

Like many cryptids, it isn't well documented with little reliable information or material evidence. Just a few eye witness accounts.