Was Richard Parker Real or Not?

Trauma can cause the brain to cover up important things. When something that may cause damage to the person in question's psyche, the brain will do this. It will cover up things such as, I don't know, losing all your family members and getting lost at sea. This is what I believe happens to Pi on his journey in the book, "Life of Pi". I believe that Richard Parker was real, but only at Pi's family's zoo, not on the boat. My thinking is that when Pi lost his family and was alone on the boat, he began to hallucinate, and believed that the animals from the zoo were with him. This would make him feel like he wasn't alone and would help with staying sane on the very long boat ride.