[Junior]

I've seen Animal Planet programs that show crocs living in any old mud hole they can find, especially if it is the only mudhole in the area and local fauna have to come down to drink there.

We are talking a region that has frequent droughts, and water holes can be few and far between.

[NicknamedBob]

I think the author of the article overemphasizes the role of predation in actually changing us.

Certainly it was one of the pressures mitigating against our survival, but competition for resources would have had a more selective function.

Migration, climactic change, and the need to find alternate forms of nourishment would have had a more direct effect in selecting for intelligence.