This wilderness area is known to support over 400 bird species, nearly half of the total bird species found in the southern African sub-region. The bird diversity is attracted by the wide variety of habitats in the area. This diversity includes a number of important populations of large, widespread birds that have suffered outside of this protected reserve.

The riverine thickets act as forest corridors which are used by altitudinal migrant forest species which leave the Drakensberg to the west, and move down to the lowveld to escape the severe escarpment winters.