The stripe pattern is peculiar of each individual. However, there seems to be a geographic rule according to which the pattern becomes more diffuse from northern to southern Africa. This postulates the existence of several races, though different authors do not completely agree. In Kenya there are two races, both with legs completely striped:

Grant's zebra (E. b. granti): more frequent northwards. Well-defined and contrasted jet black stripes over a non-shaded white background.

Böhm's zebra (E. b. böhmi): more southern. Exhibits a shade of brown bands on the white interspaces.

Specialists usually refer to them all generically as Burchell's zebras. However, the pure Burchell's zebra, E. b. burchelli, native of southern Africa, is now extinct.

Height at shoulder: 1.3 m. Length: 1.9-2.4 m. Tail: 45-55 cm. Weight: males 230-330 kg, females 200-300 kg. The foal's pelage is shaggier, especially at the back, with the stripes brownish.

Head: ears relatively short and narrow, a distinctive difference from Grevy's zebra.

When the foal reaches the age of 5, it starts building its harem, a task for which it must abduct young mares from other families. When they are 1-2 years old, young females have their first heat and then adopt a typical position, with the hind legs apart and the tail raised. This is a position adult mares avoid, preserving themselves for the harem's stallion, but youngs do not conceal their estrus and thus attract the bachelor males.

Then starts a dispute among several males, sometimes even more than a dozen. The group's stallion fails to retain the young mares, which are finally abducted. But competition is far from over: the female does not become property of a stallion until it conceives. It enters in heat successively in 5-day monthly periods for a maximum of one year, till it is finally fertilized. But in the meantime the fight goes on, and generally the winning male is not the first one who abducted the mare.

Once the mare has been impregnated, it will remain with the stallion for life. The mature harem is stable, and as long as the male is capable of defending it, there is no competition with other males. When the stallion falls sick, is too old or dies, it is replaced by another one, but the harem's cohesion is preserved.

In the dry season, family parties may gather in herds of several hundreds, in which families cohesion is maintained. In occasions they associate with wildebeest, hartebeest or Roan antelope, and less frequently with eland or giraffe. Such union is beneficial for both, since zebras clear the coarse long stems that other herbivores dislike and thus grant access to short grass for their partners.

In general, plains zebra is nomadic, especially in the dry season, when great herds can travel long distances in search of favourable pasture and water areas. It is non-territorial, the dominant stallion protects its group wherever it is.

The harem's bonds are reinforced through social behaviour. Members of a group often perform social grooming, placing close to one another in opposite directions to gain access to the other's head, neck and shoulders. This is also a frequent resting position, since it allows them to scan in both directions for detecting a possible approach of predators.

Plains zebra is diurnal and nocturnal, though it is most active by day, when grazing in tall grass. When the night falls, the group retires to areas of short grass where it can rest safe from predators. Zebras sleep intermittently, but there is always at least one sentinel on duty.

Rival stallions can fight fiercely, kneeling down and trying to bite their opponent's legs, or standing on the hind legs and neck-wrestling, kicking with the fore legs and biting face and neck. They may kick when they are followed closely, which has mostly a dissuasive effect.

When it does not feel threatened, zebra is very inquisitory. It is a noisy animal, its contact call is a mixture between a bray and a bark, very distinctive and unmistakable: a whistling inspiration followed by a sound that gave cause for its traditional name, "Quagga". In stress situations it snorts loudly, and screams when attacked.

It likes rolling on the sand, which helps to keep its pelage clean and possibly serves as a reflecting layer to relief the sun heat. It is a good racer, reaching 65 km/h. In spite of its good endurance, it is very inferior to the horse, reason why the early settlers gave up trying to domesticate it.

It is a favourite prey for lions, and less frequently hunting dogs and hyenas, which are a more serious threaten for foals. Occasionally, leopard and cheetah also depredate on youngs. When the group is attacked, it gathers in close contact, cooperating in the defense of mothers with offspring or of sick individuals. If necessary, the group will run away with the stallion covering the rearguard, but in many cases it will attack the pursuing hyenas or hunting dogs. In direct confrontation, the stallion can be very dangerous, since its kicks and bites are fearsome. Their longevity is 15-20 years.

It is remarkable that, regardless of the stripes and the name of "zebra" shared by both, actually Grevy's and plains zebras are not more closely related than each of them is with horses or asses. This is also shown by their different social organizations, which respond to adaptations to diverse habitats. Plains zebras are basically nomadic and non-territorial, hence stallions find it convenient to join the groups of mares and follow them along their movements to ensure reproduction. Instead, Grevy's are territorial despite their migrations, so males can establish their domains and thus gain access to females in transit through their territory.