Sometimes even before the rains begin, the baobab sense the coming moisture and sends out soft new leaves and flower buds. As the tree begins to take leaf, several kinds of birds arrive to make their nests among the tree's hollows and limbs, and to feed off the insects that are attracted to the leaves, flowers and fruit of the tree. The mosque swallow flies through and around the tree's limbs, and the yellow-collared lovebird settles into the hollows. The yellow-billed hornbill seals herself into a hole in the trunk with mud, and stays there until her eggs hatch and the nestlings are large. Her mate feeds insects to her through a tiny slit in the mud for more than six weeks.
Bollworms chew their way through the bark and wood.
As it grows dark, small, furry, squirrel-like creatures called bush babies emerge from hollows in the tree . They scamper about from branch to branch, feeding on the sweet liquid in the flowers. They push their faces into the blossoms, lapping up the nectar and smearing sticky pollen all over their faces. As they move from flower to flower, they carry pollen between the blooms so that the flowers are fertilized and will produce fruit. As the night grows darker, fruit bats arrive and flit among the tree's branches.