Floating.

Where is the universe located? Is it "located" at all, or just "is" it?
If you think about the dimensions which are involved, the issue gets beyond imagination.

Lichen -> moss -> microbes -> ants -> animals -> people (human or other) .... from afar they all show the same behaviour. They are akin.

I don't think the biological way of thinking as performed by the brain is the only way to perceive and experience the world.
Even our species is now at the threshold to construct mechanical/electronical thinking devices (computers are just a start). So there must be other ways of "thinking".

Animals aren't just "there". They comprise an entity capable of thinking (at a lower level). They have a perception of this world similar to our's because they have the same sensors. They can feel joy as well as pain.

If evolution on earth isn't wiped out by some fatality, our brains will evolve to a more and more sophisticated performance. If there should be a wipe-out, it'll start all over again. Evolution is the principle of nature.