The real story in 'Life of Pi' is open to interpretation. One view is that the animal story Pi tells is a way for him to cope with the brutal reality of the human - on - human violence he actually endured on the lifeboat. The animals might represent the different people on the boat, with the tiger, Richard Parker, perhaps symbolizing the most primal and dangerous aspects of human nature that Pi had to face and come to terms with.
The story of Life of Pi is purely fictional. It was crafted by the author's imagination to offer a compelling and thought-provoking narrative that isn't rooted in reality.