Rainfall in the region is highly seasonal, and the volume of water carried by these rivers varied with the wet and dry cycles of the year.

Swamp forests grow at the edges of rivers, lakes, and lagoons, and characteristic trees include Barringtonia racemosa, Ficus verruculosa, and the palm Phoenix reclinata.

[2] Large mammals in the ecoregion include hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius), African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer), waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), southern reedbuck (Redunca arundium), plains zebra (Equus quagga), Nyala (Tragelaphus angasi), blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), steenbok (Raphicerus campestris), and common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus).

Mammal predators include the lion (Panthera leo), leopard (P. pardus), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), side-striped jackal (Canis adustus), Cape genet (Genetta tigrina), African civet (Civettictis civetta), serval (Leptailurus serval), African clawless otter (Aonyx capensis), spotted-necked otter (Hydrictis maculicollis), banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda), and bushy-tailed mongoose (Bdeogale crassicauda).

[2] The flooded savannas are home to large populations of resident and migratory water birds, including African openbill stork (Anastomus lamelligerus), saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor), great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), great snipe (Gallinago media), and African skimmer (Rynchops flavirostris).

Wildlife was decimated during the Mozambican Civil War, and the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) were extirpated.