Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary
| Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
| Location | Aurangabad district, Jalgaon District Maharashtra, India |
| Nearest city | Aurangabad and Chalisgaon |
| Coordinates | 20°19′57.0″N 75°08′27.0″E / 20.332500°N 75.140833°E |
| Area | 26.061 km2 (10.062 sq mi) |
| Established | 1986 |
| Governing body | Maharashtra State Forest Department |
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.
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. Its name comes the nearby village of Gautala, which was itself named after Gautam Rishi, a Hindu ascetic mentioned in the Ramcharitmanas.
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).