In Norway, Muskox occupy low to high alpine zones with grasses and prostrate willow shrubs (Michelsen et al. 2011). Dovrefjell has a more temperate than arctic climate with warmer summers and winters and the climate is dry (Michelsen et al. 2011). The Muskox share the area with Wild Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus ssp. tarandus), Red Deer (Cervus elaphus ssp. atlanticus) and Moose (Alces alces) and unusually for Muskox ecology, with Domestic Sheep (Ovis aries). Predators are not mentioned (Rangbru and Seljevoll 2017).

Globally, Muskox are found on the tundra, which extends from the limits of plant growth on the High Arctic Islands and northern Greenland to the continental mainland where in Canada, Muskox are found south to within the tree line zone where the boreal forest meets the tundra. Muskox ecology is dominated by a short and variable plant growing season (when diet quality is high) and a long winter when the availability of low-quality forage is highly variable through snow cover (Barboza and Reynolds 2004). Although primarily grazers adapted to a diet of sedges and grasses, Muskox also browse shrubs and forage selectively for forbs. Muskox live in mixed-sex and age herds or small male bachelor herds and typically seasonally move within home ranges (Gunn and Adamczewski 2003). Muskox predators include Grey Wolves Canis lupus, Brown Bears Ursus arctos and rarely, Polar Bears Ursus maritimus (Tener 1965).

In Europe, Muskox occurs in the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park (Norway), Härjedalen (Sweden), and in the Polar Urals (Russia). The Russian site lies just inside the boundaries of geographical Europe as defined by the European Red List. The European occurrences are the result of introductions as Muskox disappeared from Europe and Asia during climate changes at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary (Markova et al. 2015). Pleistocene fossil Muskox were found in Norway (Dovre), Sweden and Denmark (Bennike et al. 2014) and the Norwegian fossils were dated at 41–35 cal kyr B.P. (Hufthammer et al. 2019).

Globally, Muskox occur naturally in the northeast and northern Greenland and in Canada on the mainland and arctic islands. Muskox were successfully reintroduced in 1935 to Alaska (Lent 1999) and to Russia in 1974 to the Taimyr Peninsula and subsequently to ten other Russian sites along the north coast including the Polar Urals, Yamal (Sipko 2009). However, other and earlier introductions to Iceland, Svalbard and Norway were unsuccessful (Schmidt and Stelvig 2022).

In Norway, the management plan’s goal is to prevent tourist traffic attracted to the Muskox from disturbing the Park’s other wildlife, especially wild reindeer and to minimize conflict between Muskox and humans. Consequently, Muskox are restricted to a 340 km² area of the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park and Muskox moving outside the area are euthanized (Rangbru and Seljevoll 2017). Disturbance from tourism is being reduced by the use of guides in Norway (Dybsand Fredman 2021) and in Sweden, encouraging tourists to visit Muskox held in a breeding centre in Härjedalen (https://myskoxcentrum.se/about-the-muskox/). A conservation plan for the few Muskox in Sweden was not approved because the Muskox were not listed as a native species on the Swedish Red List (Gärdenfors 2010).

Globally, re-introductions have reduced Muskox global vulnerabilities, as Muskox are now distributed on a circum-arctic scale. However, the recovery of Muskox and re-occupation of their former distribution to areas not occupied in living memory of local communities causes local concerns, especially for whether Muskox negatively affects caribou abundance. Currently, scientific investigations have not found evidence that Muskox impact caribou abundance (Brodeur et al. 2023). The communities are through co-management bodies involved in monitoring and regulating Muskox hunting (Cuyler et al. 2019). Muskox habitat is mostly intact and Muskox habitat in national parks is protected as land use activities are controlled, while aboriginal hunting is permitted subject to conservation provisions.