# Plains zebra
The **plains zebra** (*[Equus](https://www.edgepedia.org/equus) quagga*), also called the common or Burchell's zebra, is the most abundant and most widely distributed of the three living zebra species, a striped grazing ungulate of African savannahs ranging from [South Sudan](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-sudan) and Uganda in the north to South Africa in the south.[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) • [2](https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/zebra) It is smaller than the Grevy's zebra, has broader stripes that extend down to the ventral line, and carries 44 chromosomes against the Grevy's zebra's 46.[3](https://www.grevyszebratrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Animal-Conservation-2009-Cordingley-Is-the-endangered-Grevy-s-zebra-threatened-by-hybridization.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Equus quagga*, formerly *E. burchelli/burchellii*, with the original spelling *E. burchellii*[4](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10150533/3/Owen_thesis_10150533_redacted.pdf) |
| Subspecies | Six described on morphological variation; genetic structure does not mirror this delineation[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) |
| Origin | Southern African source region; all extant populations expanded from it around 370,000 years ago[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) |
| Size and chromosomes | About 240 kg (one recent study uses 300 kg), against roughly 400 kg for the Grevy's zebra; 44 chromosomes[3](https://www.grevyszebratrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Animal-Conservation-2009-Cordingley-Is-the-endangered-Grevy-s-zebra-threatened-by-hybridization.pdf) • [5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17370) |
| Social structure | Harem herds (one stallion, several females and offspring) plus bachelor groups, merging into temporary herds[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159120300113) |
| Feeding time | Typically 50 to 80 percent of the daily activity budget; in one five-year study females grazed 70 percent of the time and males 36 percent[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11710937/) • [8](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/social-structure-vigilance-and-behaviour-of-plains-zebra-emequus-/) |
| Extinct relative | [The quagga](https://www.edgepedia.org/quagga) (*E. quagga quagga*), last captive animal died 1883, is confirmed as a plains zebra subspecies[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) • [9](https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/extinct-species-that-scientists-could-bring-back-to-life) |
## Taxonomy and the quagga
The plains zebra is one of three living zebra species alongside the mountain zebra (*[Equus zebra](https://www.edgepedia.org/equus-zebra)*) and the Grevy's zebra (*Equus grevyi*).[2](https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/zebra) Six subspecies have been described from morphological variation, including Grant's zebra (*E. q. boehmi*) and Chapman's zebra (*E. q. chapmani*).[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) • [10](https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/NS-024-1.pdf) The species was long known as *E. burchelli* or *E. burchellii*, and the original spelling *E. burchellii* is retained in some taxonomic treatments.[4](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10150533/3/Owen_thesis_10150533_redacted.pdf)
The **quagga** (*Equus quagga quagga*), a southern African form with stripes mainly on the head and neck and a brown, largely unstriped hindquarters, was hunted to extinction in the 19th century; the last captive animal died in 1883.[9](https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/extinct-species-that-scientists-could-bring-back-to-life) Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA work confirmed it as a subspecies of the plains zebra rather than a separate species.[11](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3577844/) • [4](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10150533/3/Owen_thesis_10150533_redacted.pdf) The 2018 genomic study found the quagga fell within plains zebra variation and was less divergent from the other subspecies than the northernmost extant population, in Uganda.[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) Since 1987 the Quagga Project in South Africa has selectively bred plains zebras with reduced striping to recover the quagga's coat pattern, without genetic engineering.[9](https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/extinct-species-that-scientists-could-bring-back-to-life)
## Population structure and evolutionary history
Because the species is highly mobile, its internal evolutionary history was difficult to resolve. A 2018 study in *Nature Ecology & Evolution* by Casper-Emil T. Pedersen, a population geneticist at the [University of Copenhagen](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-copenhagen), and colleagues, including Rasmus Heller of the same institution, obtained genome-wide DNA polymorphism data from more than 167,000 loci for 59 plains zebras across the species range, covering all recognized extant subspecies, plus three mountain zebras and three Grevy's zebras.[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7)
According to the analysis, all living populations began spreading roughly 370,000 years ago, probably out of a source area situated in southern Africa.[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) The genetic structure did not match the morphology-based subspecies boundaries, and the species retains nine extant pockets of molecular diversity plus the extinct quagga as an additional group.[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) • [12](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-061220-023118) Populations across the entire range were less differentiated than Namibian populations of Hartmann's mountain zebra, a comparison the IUCN assessment uses to underline how weakly structured the species is.[13](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T41013A45172424.en) The mismatch between molecules and morphology suggests that conservation units defined purely on coat and body characters may be nonoptimal for managing the species.[12](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-061220-023118)
## Ecology and behavior
Plains zebras are grazers of grasslands and savannas, more water-dependent than the arid-adapted Grevy's zebra, which they overlap with in north-central Kenya.[5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17370) They typically dedicate 50 to 80 percent of their daily activity budget to feeding and can increase grazing time under environmental stress such as drought.[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11710937/) In Etosha National Park, Namibia, they spent 54.3 percent of daylight hours grazing.[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159120300113)
**Social organization.** Natural populations have a two-tiered structure: core groups of one male with many females, or males without females, form bands, and bands merge into temporary herds.[6](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159120300113) A five-year study of a closed reserve population without large predators found stable female groups were the mainstay of sociality, with mean male residency of 31.6 months; social interactions across all categories were free of aggression.[8](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/social-structure-vigilance-and-behaviour-of-plains-zebra-emequus-/) At dusk, males accompanying female groups allocated 41 percent of their time budget to vigilance and females 12 percent, and female vigilance rose to 19 percent when males were absent.[8](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/social-structure-vigilance-and-behaviour-of-plains-zebra-emequus-/)
**Stripes.** The stripes are unique to each individual, which lets researchers identify animals from photographs.[2](https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/zebra) A perceptual study simulating predator vision found that lions and spotted hyaenas cannot resolve the stripes beyond about 50 m in daylight and 30 m in twilight, and beyond about 9 m on moonless nights, and concluded that stripes are highly unlikely to function as anti-predator camouflage in the open habitats zebras occupy.[14](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0145679)
## Conservation
The species was assessed for the IUCN Red List in 2016. Populations had declined in 10 of the 17 range states since the 1992 and 2002 Red List assessments.[13](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T41013A45172424.en) The species remains numerous and widely distributed relative to the endangered Grevy's and mountain zebras, and its genetic continuity across the range is a stated consideration in how management units should be drawn.[1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7) • [13](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T41013A45172424.en)
## References
1. [Pedersen, C.-E. T. et al. (2018). A southern African origin and cryptic structure in the highly mobile plains zebra. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2, 491–498.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0453-7)
2. [Zebra, San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants](https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/zebra)
3. [Cordingley, J. et al. (2009). Is the endangered Grevy's zebra threatened by hybridization? Animal Conservation](https://www.grevyszebratrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Animal-Conservation-2009-Cordingley-Is-the-endangered-Grevy-s-zebra-threatened-by-hybridization.pdf)
4. [Modern Equid Taxonomy table, UCL Discovery (Owen thesis)](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10150533/3/Owen_thesis_10150533_redacted.pdf)
5. [Molecular Ecology (2023). Grevy's and plains zebra sympatry study](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17370)
6. [Plains zebra behaviour in a restored population reveals seasonal resource limitations, Applied Animal Behaviour Science](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159120300113)
7. [Plains Zebras Prioritize Foraging Without Sacrificing Social Bonds During a Severe Drought, Ecology and Evolution](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11710937/)
8. [Simpson, H. I., Rands, S. A. & Nicol, C. J. (2012). Social structure, vigilance and behaviour of plains zebra. Acta Theriologica 57, 111–120](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/social-structure-vigilance-and-behaviour-of-plains-zebra-emequus-/)
9. [6 extinct species that scientists could bring back to life, Live Science](https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/extinct-species-that-scientists-could-bring-back-to-life)
10. [IUCN Publications new series, equid taxonomy](https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/NS-024-1.pdf)
11. [Mitochondrial Phylogenomics of Modern and Ancient Equids, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3577844/)
12. [Genomics and the Evolutionary History of Equids, Annual Review of Animal Biosciences](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-061220-023118)
13. [IUCN Red List assessment: Equus quagga (Plains Zebra), 2016](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T41013A45172424.en)
14. [Melin, A. D. et al. (2016). Zebra Stripes through the Eyes of Their Predators, Zebras, and Humans. PLOS ONE](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0145679)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Vertebrates › Mammals › Ungulates › Horses and equids*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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