Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-35950060-20200307230327/@comment-29325824-20200308193815

Xilinoc wrote: There are also animals in Soul Society itself as of at least chapter 608. Raku is entirely filler and mostly unexplained.

Didn't Komamura have a (regular) dog? It does seem that normal animals do exist in SS. Though if they're native or deceased, that I do not know.