![plains zebra plains zebra](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/plains-zebra-grazing-sheila-brown.jpg)
Herds will mingle with wildebeests, ostriches and antelope while they graze and even come to depend on them as additional protection against predators. Plains zebra stay in family groups of a stallion, or male and several mares, however, different families will come together in huge herds of hundreds of zebras. Plains zebra can not survive very long without water and must be at least 25 – 30 kilometres from a water source. Other grazers also must do the same thing. The zebra will migrate up to 700 miles for food. Zebra rely on rainfall for food and water and therefore have to go on great migrations to follow the rains. Plains zebra live in eastern and southeastern Africa where there are only two seasons, wet and dry. They will also eat a variety of grasses, along with some additional browse like leaves and twigs. These zebra graze two-thirds of the day on red oat grass, bark, roots and stems.
![plains zebra plains zebra](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zDRLb5RHq64/TOEYlyz3TNI/AAAAAAAAAZY/6BUlbxnEMQA/s1600/Mala+5+121.jpg)
They also have an excellent sense of taste in which they can detect slight changes of their food quality. Like all zebra, Plains zebra have acute vision and hearing which helps them detect predators early. The northern species of Plains Zebra have narrower and more defined striping whereas southern populations have varied but lesser amounts of striping on the under parts, the legs and the hindquarters. All have vertical stripes on the forepart of the body, which travel towards the horizontal stripes on their hindquarters. Like all zebra, they are boldly striped in black and white and no two individuals look exactly alike. Both male and female Plains zebra stand about 1.4 metres (4.6 feet) high at the shoulder, are approximately 2.3 metres (8 feet) long and weigh about 294 kilograms (646 pounds) however males may weigh 10% more than females. Plains Zebra are medium sized and thick-bodied with relatively short legs. Plains Zebra are much less numerous than they once were, because of human activities such as hunting for their meat and hides, as well as invasion on much of their former habitat, however, they remain common in game reserves. Plains Zebra inhabit open, grassy plains or well-grassed woodlands. These Zebra were once found on plains and grasslands from the south of Ethiopia right through east Africa as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa. The Plains Zebra (Equus quagga, formerly Equus burchelli) is the most common and geographically widespread form of zebra.