Indus River Dolphins generally occur in the deepest river channel and are less common in secondary or side channels and in small braids (Bhatti and Pilleri 1982, Braulik 2006). During the low-water season (October to April), barrages divert a large amount of the river’s flow such that dolphin habitat downstream of Sukkur Barrage and in most tributaries has been eliminated. As water levels drop in the winter, dolphins are concentrated in the remaining deep areas. A study of dry-season habitat selection throughout the range showed that animals selected locations in the river with significantly greater mean depth, maximum depth, cross-sectional area, and hydraulic radius, and significantly narrower river width and a lower degree of braiding than areas where dolphins were absent (Braulik et al. 2012c). Dolphins were also recorded with higher frequency at river constrictions and at confluences (Braulik et al. 2012c). Channel cross-sectional area was the most important factor affecting dolphin presence and abundance in the dry season, with the area of water less than 1 m in depth being the factor that played the greatest role in habitat selection. Dolphins avoided channels with a small cross-sectional area (<700 m²).  There are numerous plans to impound or extract more water from the Indus River system. If low-water season flows are allowed to decrease further, the amount of deep habitat will decline, there may be insufficient patches of suitable habitat to support the dolphin population through the low-water season, and dolphins may become isolated within deeper river sections, unable or unwilling to move through shallows between patches of favourable habitat (Braulik et al. 2012c).

Indus River Dolphins generally surface alone, and appear to occur in loose aggregations of up to 25 individuals in some areas, however, single animals are the most frequently recorded group size (Braulik 2006).

The diet of Indus River Dolphins appears to vary according to location and/or season, but is generally composed of a large variety of mid-water and bottom-dwelling fishes (including catfish and carp) and prawns (Butt 1977, Pilleri and Zbinden 1973–74).  Prior to the construction of dams and barrages, the dolphins moved upstream during the summer flood season and downstream during the low-water season, however these seasonal movements are now blocked by dams (Anderson 1879, Braulik et al. 2015).

The Indus River Dolphin is endemic to the rivers of the lower Indus basin.  The species was considered endemic to Pakistan until the discovery of a handful of individuals in the Beas River in India in 2006 (Behera et al. 2008). Historically, the Indus River Dolphin occurred in the Indus mainstem and the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum tributaries, ranging over 3,500 km of river from the Indus delta upstream to the Himalayan foothills where rocky barriers or shallow water prevented further upstream movement (Anderson 1879, Reeves et al. 1991).

With the development of the vast Indus Basin Irrigation System starting at the end of the 19^th century, the historical range of the Indus River Dolphin has become increasingly fragmented by irrigation barrages (low, gated, diversion dams), and as a result the dolphin habitat is now split into 17 river sections. Dolphin sighting and interview surveys showed that Indus River Dolphins have been extirpated from ten river sections, persist in six sections and are of unknown status (but also likely absent) in the section of the Sutlej River on the India-Pakistan border (Braulik et al. 2014). Water diversion at irrigation barrages as well as impoundment of water behind high dams upstream, has dramatically reduced river discharge which has reduced the quality and extent of dolphin habitat in most areas, even where animals still persist.  Indus River Dolphins currently remain in three subpopulations in the Indus mainstem in Pakistan located between the Chashma and Taunsa, Taunsa and Guddu, and Guddu and Sukkur barrages (Aisha and Khan, 2021, Braulik et al. 2012b).  A small population of dolphins persists downstream of Sukkur barrage (Khan et al. 2010).  A tiny remnant population of fewer than 10 animals persists in the Beas River of India (Behera et al. 2008, WWF India 2020).  A few dolphins between Jinnah and Chashma barrages reported in 2001 and 2006 (two animals and one animal in each survey, respectively) (Braulik et al. 2012b) seem to have disappeared as no dolphins were sighted there in a 2017 survey (Aisha and Khan 2021). The linear extent of occurrence of the Indus River Dolphin is now approximately 900 km, and approximately 99% of the dolphin population occurs in only 690 km of river (Chashma to Sukkur), which corresponds to an almost 80% reduction in effective linear range since the 1870s (Reeves et al. 1991).

In 1972, Indus River Dolphins were protected under the Wildlife Act of Sindh and in 1974 the government of Sindh declared the Indus River between the Sukkur and Guddu Barrages a dolphin reserve. The government of Punjab prohibited deliberate killing of dolphins under the Punjab Wildlife Protection Act in 1974 and declared the Taunsa Wildlife Sanctuary and Chashma Wildlife Sanctuary in 1983 and 1984, respectively (Reeves et al. 1991, Reeves and Chaudhry 1998, Chaudhry and Khalid 1989). These three areas are also Ramsar-listed wetlands and Important Bird Areas and were recently included as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) which has raised the international profile of these wetlands. Enforcement of regulations prohibiting dolphin hunting appears to have arrested the rapid population declines reported by Pilleri and Zbinden (1973–74) and there are no longer any reports of hunting or use of Indus Dolphin meat/oil.  The dolphin canal rescue programme, organised by WWF–Pakistan and Sindh Wildlife Department, has successfully rescued on average 7 dolphins annually over more than 20 years. This includes community-based watchers to monitor canals, liaise with communities, collect information on canal-entrapped dolphins and organise rescues.

WWF–Pakistan and Sindh Wildlife Department set up education centres at Sukkur and Guddu barrages, and a third one was established together with the Punjab Irrigation Department and Punjab Wildlife Departments at Taunsa barrage.  A small-scale dolphin watching programme provides income support to fishing communities near Sukkur, Sindh and a similar programme is also led by a community-based organisation in Taunsa, Punjab.