It is quite stout in comparison with the Grevy's zebra. Broad vertical stripes on the sides bend on the flanks to become horizontal across the rump. Stripes extend down the rather short legs to broad hooves. The stripes on the sides continue into the short, erect mane and meet under the belly. Stripes become less distinct on subspecies in the more southerly parts of its range.
Plains zebra have a harem-type social organization.
The pattern of stripes on all zebras is unique to each individual, with the variation greatest in the shoulder region. This has helped researchers identify and follow individuals over the course of long-term studies and may aid foals and adult zebras of a given harem in identifying each other in the large grazing herds. The plains zebra has differentiated into several subspecies, two of which are now extinct. The Grant's zebra is the best studied of the plains zebras, and much of what we know of the behavior and biology of the species comes from work done with this subspecies in the wild and in zoos. In the wild its distribution extends from southern Sudan through East Africa south to the Zambesi River.