09/10/2014
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]