Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary

Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary is a protected area of Maharashtra state, India. It lies in the Satmala and Ajantha hill ranges of the Western Ghats, and administratively is in Aurangabad District and Jalgaon District. The wildlife sanctuary was established in 1986 in an existing reserved forest area.^[1][2]

It covers a total area of 26,061.19 hectares (64,399 acres) with Reserved Forest Areas of 19706 ha. in Aurangabad and 6355.19 ha. in Jalgaon.^[3] Its name comes the nearby village of Gautala, which was itself named after Gautam Rishi, a Hindu ascetic mentioned in the Ramcharitmanas.

Ecology

The area is southern tropical dry deciduous forest with interspersed bush and grasslands. It houses a variety of wildlife including chinkara (Gazella bennettii), nilgai (antelope) (Boselaphus tragocamelus), sloth bears (Melursus ursinus), jungle cat (Felis chaus), wanderoo (Macaca silenus), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), brown palm civet (Paradoxurus jerdoni), muntjac (barking deer) (Muntiacus muntjak), hare (Lepus nigricollis), leopard, fox, jackal, bats, wild boar, gray langur (Semnopithecus entellus), wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) and dhole (wild dog) (Cuon alpinus). 240 bird species have been observed in and around the sanctuary,^[4] among them are cranes, spoonbills, storks, ibis, pochards, peafowl, quail, partridges, and various species of wading birds. Snakes include the cobra (Naja naja), common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), and rat snake (Ptyas mucosus).

Trees include teak (Tectona grandis), anjan (Hardwickia binata), oil cake tree (Albizia amara), sandalwood (Santalum album), bel (Aegle marmelos), awla (Phyllanthus emblica), bhallatak (Semecarpus anacardium), and moha (Madhuca longifolia).

Features

• Pithalkhora caves, rock-cut, Buddhist caves, from the 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE
• Patnadevi Temple
• Mahadeva Temple
• Sita Khori a waterfall^[2]

Hanuman (Maruti) mandir road side...

Notes

1. Bhatt, Shankarlal C. and Bhargava, Gopal K. (2006). "Wildlife". Land and people of Indian states and union territories in 36 volumes, volume 16 Maharashtra. Delhi, India: Gyan Publishing House (Kalpaz Publications). p. 479. ISBN 978-81-7835-372-2.
2. "Gautala - for the eco tourist". Aurangabad Net. Archived from the original on 22 September 2010.
3. "Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary". India 9. 7 June 2005. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008.
4. Co-ordinator Conservator of Forests, Aurangabad Forest Division (2010). "Vision 2020: Aurangabad Forest, Wildlife & Social Forestry" (pdf). Aurangabad (Maharashtra). p. 13.