[4] One of the earliest recorded descriptions of the Irrawaddy dolphin was by Sir Richard Owen in 1866 based on a specimen found in 1852, in the harbour of Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India.

[citation needed] The Irrawaddy dolphin's colour is grey to dark slate blue, paler underneath, without a distinctive pattern.

Irrawaddy dolphins are capable of squirting streams of water that can reach up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in); this distinct behaviour has been known for herding fish into a general area for hunting.

[11][13] Traveling and staying in groups not only enables Irrawaddy dolphins to hunt, but it also creates and maintains social bonds and allows copulation to occur.

[12]: 1 Presence of the species in Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong's waters has been questioned as the reported sightings have been considered unreliable,[17] and the easternmost of ranges along Eurasian continent is in Vietnam.

Known subpopulations of Irrawaddy dolphins are found in eight places, listed here in order of population, including conservation status.

Fishers in India recall when they would call out to the dolphins, by tapping a wooden key also known as a lahai kway,[28] against the sides of their boats, asking the Irrawaddys to drive fish into their nets.

[29] In Burma, in the upper reaches of the Ayeyarwady River, Irrawaddy dolphins drive fish towards fishers using cast nets in response to acoustic signals from them.

The fishermen attempt to gain the attention of the dolphins through various efforts such as using a cone-shaped wooden stick to drum the side of their canoes, striking their paddles to the surface of the water, jingling their nets, or making calls that sound turkey-like.

A pod of dolphins that agrees to work alongside the fisherman will entrap a school of fish in a semicircle, guiding them towards the boat.

[34] The majority of reported dolphin deaths in all subpopulations is due to accidental capture and drowning in gillnets and dragnets, and in the Philippines, bottom-set crabnets.

The practice of using explosives instead has become very popular and led to a steady decline of populations of fish, and especially the dolphins swimming in the area.

Poor fishermen refuse to cut and destroy their nets because it would result in too great of an economic loss to save one Irrawaddy dolphin.

This will create strong sound waves that could possibly kill the Irrawaddy dolphins due to their highly sensitive hearing structures.

[citation needed] In several Asian countries, Irrawaddy dolphins have been captured and trained to perform in public aquaria.

Their charismatic appearance and unique behaviors, including spitting water, spyhopping, and fluke-slapping, make them very popular for shows in dolphinaria.

The region within and near the species' range has developed economically; theme parks, casinos, and other entertainment venues that include dolphin shows have increased.

[36] In the Mahakam River in Borneo, 73% of dolphin deaths are related to entanglement in gillnets, due to heavy fishing and boat traffic.

[37] The Irrawaddy dolphins in Asia are increasingly threatened by tourist activity, such as large numbers of boats circulating the areas in which they live.

[43] It is listed on Appendix I[43] as this species has been categorized as being in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant proportion of their range and CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them, as well on Appendix II[43] as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organized by tailored agreements.

[44] The species is also covered by the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region (MoU).

[45] Several national efforts are resulting in the reduction of threats to local Irrawaddy dolphin subpopulations: Portions of Irrawaddy dolphin habitat in the Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh are included within 139,700 ha (539 sq mi) of three wildlife sanctuaries, which are part of the Sunderbans World Heritage Site.

[48] In 2005, The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) established the Cambodian Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project with support from government and local communities.

Since the endangerment was evident, 66 guards have been posted on the coast of Cambodia to protect these dolphins, and only two deaths have been reported since these efforts.

[58] The Si Phan Don Wetlands Project encouraged river communities to set aside conservation zones and establish laws to regulate how and when fish are caught.

In early 2022, a 110kg 25 year old male dolphin was found dead on an island in the Si Phan Don called Koh La Ngo.

[24] Myanmar's Department of Fisheries took charge in December 2005, and instituted a protected region in a 74 km (46 mi) segment of the Ayeyarwady River between Mingun and Kyaukmyaung.

With technical support provided by the project, the municipality of Taytay and the Malampaya park management developed fishery policies to minimize the threats to the Irrawaddy dolphin from bycatch capture.

[65][66] In 2002, the Marine and Coastal Resources Department was assigned to protect rare aquatic animals such as dolphins, whales, and turtles in Thai territorial waters.

[70] The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is studying artificial breeding options in 2022 to try to save the last herd of Irrawaddy dolphins in Songkhla Lake, which is on the verge of extinction after only 14 were found in the most recent survey.