Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

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. It covers a total area of with Reserved Forest Areas of 19706 ha. in Aurangabad and 6355.19 ha. in Jalgaon. Its name comes the nearby village of Gautala, which was itself named after Gautam Rishi, a Hindu ascetic mentioned in the

Ramcharitmanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, रामचरितमानस, rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1511–1623). It has many inspirations, the primary being t ...

. Inside the dense forest there is lake called gautala where some people used to be live and cattle grazing from which the place and forest named gautala Gau (Cow).

Wildlife

There are many species of animals like reptiles, mammals, and insects found here. More than 240 various bird species live here including

Spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

Peafowl Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

, and Crane. In sanctuary areas, there are also many ancient temples, caves, lakes, and waterfalls which are attracted by tourists. The wildlife is well protected by the

government, announced this place as a sanctuary established in 1986.

Ecology

The area is southern tropical dry deciduous forest with interspersed bush and grasslands.This topography supports wide variety of flora and fauna

Fauna

The wildlife include wide variety of animals. They are chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), nilgai (antelope) (''Boselaphus tragocamelus''), sloth bears (''Melursus ursinus''), jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis''), brown palm civet (''Paradoxurus jerdoni''), muntjac (barking deer) (''Muntiacus muntjak''), hare (''Lepus nigricollis''),

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...

bats Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

, 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, among them are cranes,

spoonbills Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

storks Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout Beak, bills. They belong to the family (biology), family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, suc ...

ibis The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

, pochards,

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

partridges A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perdic ...

, and various species of wading birds. Snakes include the cobra (''

Naja naja The Indian cobra (''Naja naja /na''dʒa nadʒa/), also known commonly as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra, a venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent, ...

''), common krait (''

Bungarus caeruleus The common krait (''Bungarus caeruleus'') is a highly venomous snake species belonging to the genus ''Bungarus'' in the family Elapidae. Native to South Asia, it is widely distributed across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, inha ...

''), and rat snake (''

Ptyas mucosus ''Ptyas mucosa'', commonly known as the Oriental rat snake, dhaman or Indian rat snake, is a common non-venomous species of Colubridae, colubrid snake found in parts of South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. Dhamans are large snakes. Typical matur ...

'').

Flora

The hill tops in the sanctuary are grass lands where as most of the forest trees occur on the slopes.Trees include teak (''

Tectona grandis Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

''), anjan (''Hardwickia binata''), oil cake tree (''

Albizia amara ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

''), sandalwood (''

Santalum album ''Santalum album'' is a small tropical tree, and the traditional source of sandalwood oil. It is native to Indonesia (Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands), the Philippines, and Western Australia. It is commonly known as the true sandalwood, white ...

''), bel (''

Aegle marmelos ''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as bael (or ''bili'' or ''bhel''), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is present i ...

''), awla (''

Phyllanthus emblica ''Phyllanthus emblica'', also known as emblic, emblic myrobalan, myrobalan, nelikai, Indian gooseberry, Malacca tree, amloki or amla, is a deciduous tree of the family Phyllanthaceae. Its native range is tropical and southern Asia. Descript ...

''), bhallatak (''

Semecarpus anacardium ''Semecarpus anacardium'', commonly known as the marking nut tree, Malacca bean tree, marany nut, oriental cashew, dhobi nut tree and varnish tree, is a native of India, found in the outer Himalayas to the Coromandel Coast. It is closely related ...

''), and moha (''

Madhuca longifolia ''Madhuca longifolia'' is an Indian tropical tree found largely in the central, southern, north Indian plains and forests, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is commonly known as madhūka, mahura, , mahuwa, Butter Tree, mahura, mahwa, ...

'').

How to reach

The sanctuary is well connected by road. It is about 75 km from Aurangabad and 40 km from Chalisgaon city. The nearest rail head is Chalisgaon and airport is at Aurangabad also nearby towns Kannad City from where 2 to 3 Bus are available from Kannad in a day.

Features

Pitalkhora The Pitalkhora Caves, in the Satmala range of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India, are an ancient Buddhist site consisting of 14 rock-cut cave monuments which date back to the third century BCE, making them one of the earliest examples of ...

caves, rock-cut, Buddhist caves, from the 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE * Patnadevi Temple *

Mahadeva Temple Shiva is one of the principal deities in Hinduism and is considered part of the Trimurti alongside Brahma and Vishnu. Numerous temples dedicated to Shiva exist across India and beyond, often featuring lingams as representations of the deity. Hin ...

* Sita Khori a waterfall Hanuman (Maruti) mandir road side...

Notes

{{Clear Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests Wildlife sanctuaries in Maharashtra Jalgaon district 1986 establishments in Maharashtra Protected areas established in 1986 Tourist attractions in Maharashtra