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Zebra Group Departures Were Linked to Visual and Tactile Behaviours

Group of plains zebras standing together in Pilanesberg National Park
Research · Behaviour

A 2026 field study of wild plains zebras (Equus quagga) in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa, found that decisions to start moving as a group were associated mainly with visual and tactile behaviours rather than vocal signals. The results suggest that group departures emerge from a partially shared decision-making process in which initiators, followers and animals that do not follow can all influence the outcome.

The researchers observed naturally occurring movements from a vehicle and recorded video, audio and photographs without manipulating the animals. After excluding repeated encounters and observations that could not be analysed reliably, they examined 43 independent movement attempts involving 155 individually recognised zebras in harems and larger herds.

Visual and tactile behaviours mattered more than snorting

Before each movement, the researchers compared the behaviour of the zebra that first started walking with the behaviour of animals that followed and those that did not. Headshakes, head-bobs, physical contact, grazing, standing, short walks and changes of direction were all associated with different parts of the departure process. By contrast, the researchers did not detect a relationship between snorting and whether a collective movement developed.

Two plots showing short-walk duration before successful and failed zebra group departures and headshake rates during baseline and pre-departure phases
Role-dependent short walks and headshakes around collective departure attempts. Figure 2 from Xie, Sueur & Briefer (2026), CC BY 4.0.

Non-followers also influenced whether and how far the group moved

The behaviour of animals other than the initiator also mattered. When non-followers spent more time standing before departure, a smaller proportion of the group followed the initiator. A higher rate of direction changes by both initiators and non-followers was associated with shorter group movements. These patterns are consistent with a system in which the decision is not controlled solely by a single leader.

The researchers also tested whether sex, age or lactation status predicted whether an individual became an initiator, follower or non-follower. The analysis did not support a clear association between any of these characteristics and the roles in the movement attempts.

The study builds on previous work showing sophisticated visual communication in plains zebras. Here, the authors conclude that collective departures appear to rely mostly on non-acoustic behaviour and that the actions of several group members contribute to whether and how the group moves together.

Sources and image credit

  1. Xie, B., Sueur, C., & Briefer, E. F. (2026). Plains zebra (Equus quagga) group movement decisions are associated with visual and tactile behaviours performed by initiators, followers and non-followers. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 80(8), 107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-026-03783-9Primary peer-reviewed open-access study, published 30 July 2026

Image: Bernard DUPONT — group of plains zebras in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

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