With their monsoon and dry season climate these grasslands are quite different from the tropical rainforest that covers most of the island and resemble the landscape of northern Australia which lies to the south.

Although trading contacts between the Southeast Asian merchants and the natives became more infrequent as time passed, there was a continued presence of traders in the region as late as the 1870's.

Birds of the area include the Fly River grassbird (Megalurus albolimbatus) and the spangled kookaburra, a famous relative of the kingfisher which feeds on rodents and reptiles rather than fish.

Most habitats are intact although wildlife is vulnerable to collection, hunting and damage by logging and woodland clearance, especially as people migrate into the area on the Indonesian side.

A third of the region is protected, particularly in Indonesia's large Wasur National Park on the coast and the adjoining Tonda Wildlife Management Area across the border in Papua New Guinea.