Pi lifeboat

Restrictions meant to keep the animals in in the Pondicherry zoo have the side effect of keeping predators out. For the herbivores this liberates them from having to look over their shoulder afraid of predators. For the predators since they can't hunt they have their food given to them and thus this liberates them from wasting energy hunting. Pi does somthing simmilar with the life jacket raft he imprisons himself to protect himself from Ricard Parker liberating him enough to fish and desalinate water.