The Eastern highlands moist deciduous forests, which receive more annual moisture from the Bay of Bengal, lie to the southeast.

Teak (Tectona grandis) is the dominant canopy tree, in association with coromandel ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon), dhaora (Anogeissus latifolia), Lagerstroemia parviflora, Terminalia tomentosa, Lannea coromandelica, Hardwickia binata, and Boswellia serrata.

The ecoregion is home to 76 species of mammals, none of which are endemic, although several of which, including the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), along with gaur (Bos gaurus), packs of dhole or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis), and blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), are threatened.

[citation needed] This area is densely populated and only about 30% of the ecoregion is covered in relatively intact vegetation, but this does include some large blocks of habitat in the amarkantak, Vindhya and Satpura ranges which are important for the preservation of the tiger.

[3] As of 1997, about 5% of the ecoregion (7,500 km2) lies within protected areas, the largest of which are Melghat Tiger Reserve and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary while others include Bandhavgarh, Panna, and Sanjay national parks.