It is the location where the South Island takahē, a type of bird presumed extinct, was rediscovered in 1948.

[4] Native birds recorded in the area include takahē, mohua, whio, kea, New Zealand kākā, kākāriki, New Zealand falcon, weka, rock wren, tomtit, tūī, bellbird, fantail, rifleman, grey warbler, brown creeper, silver-eye, pipit and kiwi.

[5] The 1948 discovery of the takahē, the largest living member of the rail family, happened after unrecognized bird footprints were found, and Geoffrey Orbell, an Invercargill-based physician, led an expedition to find the unknown bird.

[9] With the aim of protecting the native bird populations, the New Zealand Department of Conservation started a program in 2002 to control stoats in the area.

[10] The numbers of red deer in the Murchison Mountains steadily grew between 1930 and 1973 but hunting on foot and helicopter reduced the population by 60% between 1973 and 1975.