PS
Russell seems keen on this idea of an all-encompassing consciousness that permeates the cosmos and binds together all life (Sounds like the Force, Luke).
My own idea is a little less ambitious, I'm just trying to imagine the same universe seen and defined in different ways by its inhabitants. Your example of the swamp croc is a good one. Those guys have been around longer than the dinosaurs, I'm sure they've learned something during their stay here, they are survivors.
Their view of reality is complex and sophisticated, and their universe is just as valid as ours..