The film casts a critical light on the ever-advancing destruction of the African natural and animal world through the constantly growing and expanding human civilization as well as through poaching.
Bernhard and Michael Grzimek had invited the press to the Berlin Zoological Garden for the morning of that day, but no journalists showed up.
The South African censors initially wanted to shorten the documentary, but after protests in the newspapers, the interior minister decided that the film would be shown there uncensored.
[3][4] Bernhard and Michael Grzimek offered part of their film proceeds to the English administration of Tanganyika, which was supposed to use it to buy up land to enlarge the conservation areas there, since the British government had decided to reduce the Serengeti National Park by a third.
This offer was declined, instead the Grzimeks were invited by the National Park's director, Peter Molloy, to study animal migrations in the Serengeti.