Pi reaches land in Mexico in an exhausted, near-delirious state and struggles to bring the lifeboat through the surf without capsizing. Using the remaining sea anchors to keep the boat aligned with the waves, Pi times the “streaming and tripping” of the anchors until a well-caught wave carries them past the worst breakers and onto sand.

As Pi lowers himself from the boat, Richard Parker leaps over Pi and heads for the beach. The tiger staggers, falls several times, and reaches the jungle’s edge; Pi expects some final acknowledgement, but Richard Parker does not look back and disappears into the foliage, ending their relationship without ceremony.

Pi collapses on the sand, feeling newly orphaned—first of family, then of Richard Parker—and briefly fearing even God’s absence, before reframing the beach as evidence of divine presence. Hours later, local people find Pi, react to his smell by covering their noses and mouths, pull the lifeboat ashore, and carry Pi away, throwing away the one piece of turtle meat Pi still clutches.

Pi weeps intensely, not only from survival but because the farewell with Richard Parker was “botched.” Pi reflects on the need for proper endings and imagines the goodbye Pi wishes had happened, including gratitude to Richard Parker for saving Pi’s life and a blessing for Richard Parker’s return to the jungle.

Pi is taken to a village where women bathe and scrub Pi vigorously and feed Pi until Pi cannot stop eating. The next day police take Pi to a hospital, and Pi closes the ordeal by emphasizing the generosity of villagers, medical staff, and Mexican and Canadian officials who help Pi move from rescue to a new life, extending heartfelt thanks.