also: しまうま
Refers to the animal; no special nuance.
I saw a zebra at the zoo.
Each zebra's stripe pattern is unique.
Grevy's zebra
plains zebra
Grevy's zebra
Burchell's zebra
Katakana spelling is standard; the word is usually written in kana.
Hiragana spelling, also common.
Kanji form using 縞 (stripe) and 馬 (horse); rarely used.
Search-only mixed kanji-kana form.
Rare kanji form using 斑 (spotted); it is rarely used.
Compound of 縞 (shima, 'stripe') and 馬 (uma, 'horse'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is transparently descriptive.