Zebras live in harems consisting of a stallion who ensures safety by staying at the rear, ready to intervene if a predator or rival approaches, and several females, including a dominant one, often the oldest, who guides the group and the young. At around 3 years of age, the males will join other bachelors. Social bonds are strengthened by mutual grooming with the tips of their teeth on the neck and back. Females give birth in the middle of the herd, under the protection of the male. Within a few hours, the newborn must be able to stand up, ready to flee if a predator approaches.

Zebras, like many non-ruminant herbivores that have difficulty digesting the plants they eat, spend up to 70% of their time eating! They also need to drink every day, and several herds gather around watering holes, often in the company of other species.

At the foetal stage, zebras are black. The white stripes appear as they develop. Juveniles have longer, thicker coats that are reddish brown in colour. Depending on the species, the stripes are more or less wide. Grévy's zebras have thin stripes that do not extend down to the belly, while plains zebras, including Grant's zebras, have wider stripes that meet under the belly. The mane, which is also striped, has short, upright hairs on the head and neck.

With eyes positioned on either side of its head, the zebra has a wide field of vision, enabling it to spot predators and alert the rest of the herd.

Several hypotheses seek to explain zebra stripes: a 'bar code' enabling them to recognise each other, an 'optical illusion' confusing predators who would find it difficult to distinguish an individual in the herd, a 'repellent' to ward off horseflies and tsetse flies, which are usually attracted to the polarised light reflected horizontally by dark coats, the white stripes reflecting light in all directions and thus confusing biting insects.