[4] It lives in the waters around India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and the eastern coast of Africa.

[5][9] However, more recent studies indicate that this is a consequence of reticulate evolution (such as past hybridization between Stenella and ancestral Tursiops) and incomplete lineage sorting, and thus support T. truncatus and T. aduncus belonging to the same genus.

[12] The Indo-Pacific population also tends to have a somewhat lighter blue colour and the cape is generally more distinct, with a light spinal blaze extending to below the dorsal fin.

[12] Size of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins can vary based on geographic location; however, its average length is 2.6 m (8.5 ft) long, and it weighs up to 230 kg (510 lb).

[14] In one study,[14] researchers looked at the feeding ecology of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins by analyzing the stomach contents of ones that got caught in the gillnet fisheries off Zanzibar, Tanzania.

A dolphin breaks a marine sponge off the sea floor and wears it over its rostrum, apparently to probe substrates for fish, possibly as a tool.

[15][16] The first report and footage of spontaneous ejaculation in an aquatic mammal was recorded in a wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin near Mikura Island, Japan, in 2012.

A team of scientists followed up on this behavior and discovered metabolites with antibacterial, antioxidative, and hormonal activities in the corals and sponges, suggesting that they might be used by the dolphins to treat skin infections.

[18] The species is not considered to be endangered; its near-shore distribution, though, makes it vulnerable to environmental degradation, direct exploitation, and problems associated with local fisheries.

[20] Large-mesh nets set to protect bathers from sharks in South Africa and Australia have also resulted in a substantial number of deaths.

These small cetaceans are commonly found in captivity,[14] causing conservation concerns, including the effects of removing the animals from their wild populations, survival of cetaceans during capture and transport and while in captivity, and the risks to wild populations and ecosystems of accidentally introducing alien species and spreading epizootic diseases, especially when animals have been transported over long distances and are held in sea pens.

[22] By the late 1980s, the United States stopped collecting bottlenose dolphins and the number of captive-born animals in North American aquaria has increased from only 6% in 1976 to about 44% in 1996.

Small, motorized vessels have increased as a source of anthropogenic noise due to the rise in popularity of wildlife viewing such as whale watching.

[29] The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin populations of the Arafura and the Timor Sea are listed on Appendix II[30] of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

They are listed on Appendix II[30] as they have an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements.