Question

How do animals obtain nitrogen?

Answer 1

Animals obtain nitrogen primarily from their diet. Carnivorous animals obtain their needed nitrogen from protein in the meat they eat while herbivorous animals obtain nitrogen through plant materials that has a high protein or amino acid content such as leguminous plants.

Explanation:

Nitrogen is an incredibly important element in the bodies of animal as it is a component of the nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, proteins, and other metabolic compounds. A sufficient amount of nitrogen in the diet of animals is paramount for muscle and body development, metabolic regulation (protein hormones and enzymes) and their whole genetic makeup (nucleic acids such as DNA have nitrogenous bases namely Adenine, Cytosine, Thymine and Guanine).
An excess of nitrogenous substances in the body however may lead to certain diseases such as gout and joint pains in humans (or other mammals).