I’m almost tempted to put this under ‘Animal Posts’ because it’s really a giant bat.  This creature is found in Cameroon and is associated with the Kongamato, which is a pterodactyl cryptid.  Only because they both fly and tend to attack people wandering through a jungle.

Now, the Olitiau doesn’t come from folklore or mythology.  It is a cryptid in the same vein as Sasquatch and Nessie.  That is a mysterious creature that has been sighted in the wild and not identified as a known species.  The Olitiau really does skirt this because it’s description is simply that of a giant bat.  It is said to be all black and the size of an eagle with a 12 foot wingspan.  It has a semicircle of pointy teeth that are spread wide apart and it makes a chattering noise.  Finally, it was later said to have a face closer to that of a monkey than a dog.

Most of the information comes from a single encounter in 1936 by two men (Sanderson & Russell) who were leading an expedition to West Africa.  They encounter the Olitiau, which buzzed them twice and disappeared into the night.  Locals apparently said that they had seen the same type of creature of the years and revealed the name.  An interesting and simple tale, but it starts with the two men having shot the following animal:

Hammerhead Fruit Bat

While not the size of the Olitiau, the hammerhead fruit bat does match the description and they could have angered one after killing the first.  They don’t eat people, but that doesn’t mean they won’t attack.  It was also dark or at least shadowy along with the two men being startled and fueled by adrenaline.  So, the mind could play tricks to enlarge the beast that is coming for your face.  Then again, other people claimed to see or get harassed by it, so maybe it is real.

This story gets stranger too because somebody would later claim the Olitiau was a pterosaur, which upset Sanderson.  He didn’t agree even though he admitted it could be possible, but still thought pterosaurs were cliff-diving hunters.  Even with that thought, him and his partner claimed they had seen a large bat.  Unfortunately, the theory of a pterosaur muddied the waters and that’s why the Olitiau gets connected or absorbed by the Kongamato.

An interesting tidbit is the origin of the name.  Olitiau is thought to be a transcription of the Ipulo word for cloven or forked.  This is used for a local dance mask that depicts a devil.  The locals may have thought Sanderson was describing a devil instead of a large bat, which is why they shared their term for the mask.  When Olitiau was said to people in the region, they usually didn’t have a response.  Yet, sometimes they would if the word was stated closer to the original, mask name.  So, there could be a translation situation here as well.

My personal thought is that this could have been a incredibly large bat.  Possibly a mutant that grew much bigger than normal.  That’s if it really exists because it’s also possible that the Olitiau is a regular bat enhanced by human fear and imagination.  Still popular enough to end up in fiction though.