Marloth’s original forests covered a much larger area, but they were exploited by the local furniture and wagon industries over the years, leaving only a few isolated patches of forest in damper areas today. Typical forest species include yellowwood, stinkwood, Cape beech, wild olive, assegaaibos, cherrywood and hard pear.

The nature reserve is home to many small mammals, including the grey rhebok, klipspringer, common duiker, baboon, caracal, mongoose, porcupine, dassie and hare. Marloth also has leopard, but they are rarely seen. The area is rich in birdlife, with 114 species recorded, including the African fish eagle, black eagle, wood owl, red-winged francolin, tambourine dove, and four different species of woodpecker. Hikers should be on the lookout for snakes, such as puff adder, Cape cobra and mountain adder.