The film begins in Pondicherry, India, where Pi grows up in a zoo owned by his father, Santosh Patel. Pi develops a deep fascination with animals, particularly a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. When the zoo closes, Pi's family decides to move to Canada, but their ship, the Tsimtsum, sinks during a storm. Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with Richard Parker, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan.