Ahool of Java

Record summary

Ahool is a supposed giant bat or bat-like flying creature associated with Java. Later cryptozoological books repeatedly cite an account attributed to Dr. Ernest Bartels, who allegedly encountered it near Mount Salak in the 1920s, making the case a recurring subject in twentieth-century mystery literature. It matters for comparison because descriptions overlap with large fruit bats, folkloric flying beings and misidentified nocturnal wildlife. The original documentation is difficult to locate, and the Bartels attribution may have been transmitted through secondary sources rather than independently verified field records.