Zebras are striped, horse-family animals native to Africa, and there are three living species: the plains zebra, the Grevy’s zebra, and the mountain zebra. Their conservation status ranges from stable to endangered, depending on the species.
This page covers all three species: their stripes, habitat, diet, social structure, and current conservation status.
What are the three zebra species?
The three living zebra species are the plains zebra (Equus quagga), the Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), and the mountain zebra (Equus zebra), each with its own range and stripe pattern. The plains zebra is the most common and has broad stripes, the Grevy’s zebra is the largest with narrow, closely spaced stripes, and the mountain zebra has a grid-like pattern on its rump and a dewlap on its throat.
This page does not cover the quagga, an extinct plains zebra subspecies that was hunted to extinction in the 19th century, since it is not a living species today.
Why do zebras have stripes?
Scientists have proposed several explanations for zebra stripes, and the strongest current evidence points to protection from biting flies. A 2022 study by researchers at Princeton University found that biting flies called stable flies strongly preferred landing on plain tan-colored pelts over striped zebra pelts in field tests in Kenya, and that the stripe effect worked only at close range, within about 30 centimeters (Tombak et al., Scientific Reports, 2022).
Follow-up video research found that biting flies fail to slow down properly as they approach striped zebras, so they often bump into the animal or fly past instead of landing smoothly, the way they do on solid-colored horses (The Conversation). Other proposed explanations, including camouflage from predators, heat regulation, and individual recognition between zebras, have less consistent support in the research and remain debated. This section does not settle every hypothesis. It reports which one currently has the strongest published evidence.
Where do zebras live and what do they eat?
All three zebra species live in Africa, but in different habitats: plains zebras range across grasslands and savanna in eastern and southern Africa, Grevy’s zebras live in the semi-arid grasslands of Kenya and Ethiopia, and mountain zebras live on rocky slopes and plateaus in Namibia, Angola, and South Africa.
Zebras are grazers, and grass makes up most of their diet, though they also browse leaves, twigs, and bark when grass is scarce. Plains zebras are considered pioneer grazers, meaning they eat down tough, taller grass first, which opens up shorter grass for other grazing animals that follow them (African Wildlife Foundation). This section does not cover zebras in zoos or captive breeding programs, only wild populations.
How do zebras organize socially?
Plains zebras and mountain zebras live in stable family groups, usually one stallion with several mares and their young, while bachelor males form separate groups until they can lead a family of their own. Grevy’s zebras behave differently: adult Grevy’s zebras do not keep permanent herds, and males instead hold and defend a territory that females move through.
Multiple family groups may gather into larger herds, especially near water or during migration, but the smaller family unit stays intact inside the crowd. This section does not cover how zebra social structure changes in captivity, which can differ from wild behavior.
What is the conservation status of each zebra species?
The three zebra species have different conservation outlooks. The plains zebra is listed as Near Threatened, with a population around 500,000, as of a 2016 IUCN Red List assessment. The mountain zebra is listed as Vulnerable overall, though its Cape subspecies has recovered enough to be separately listed as Least Concern as of a 2016 IUCN assessment, growing from a low of roughly 80 animals in the 1930s and 1950s to more than 1,700 today (Endangered Wildlife Trust, IUCN assessment).
The Grevy’s zebra is the most at risk. It is listed as Endangered by the IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group, and its population has dropped by roughly 80 percent since the late 1970s, from about 15,000 animals to around 3,000 today, most of them in Kenya (Grevy’s Zebra Trust). This section reports status as assessed in the years cited above. Numbers change as new surveys are published, so always check the source link for the latest figures.
For more on African wildlife, see our animals section and our page on orangutans. For classroom activities, visit our science lesson plans.
Sources
- Tombak, K.J., et al. Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range, Scientific Reports (2022)
- The Conversation. Zebra’s stripes are a no fly zone for flies
- Grevy’s Zebra Trust. Conservation Status
- African Wildlife Foundation. Zebra
- Endangered Wildlife Trust. Cape Mountain Zebra IUCN Assessment