Charles, I have been following the comments in this thread, not because I have any interest in the shields shown, but because I do necessarily have a very high interest in symbolism, especially Hindu symbolism, by virtue of my interest in the keris.
Rather than use 5,000 words on the "shotgun" approach to your questions, I would like to suggest that you may care to investigate several things which I am certain will provide you with an answer:-
the place, nature and purpose of animals in the Hindu world view
the use of animals as vehicles for deities
the incarnations of deities
the use of animals in Hindu decorative art
For a long time books such as Dowson's "Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology", and Rao's "Elements of Hindu Iconography" have been amongst the premier references used to answer questions such as yours, but these days Dr. Google seems to be able to provide a fast, superficial understanding of things that 40 or 50 years ago would have used at least several days in a good reference library.
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