The subspecies is endemic to the islands of Svalbard, where it has lived for at least 5,000 years and has become well adapted to the harsh climate,[4][5] being found on nearly all non-glaciated areas of the archipelago.

[6] They are the only large grazing mammal in the European High Arctic, and this makes them exceptional for studies concerning the introduction of pollutants to changing ecosystems.

During the short Arctic summer, Svalbard reindeer feed on a lush tundra vegetation of vascular plants, including grasses, herbs, sedges and deciduous shrubs in the lowland plains and valleys, to accumulate fat for the winter.

[9] Rain on snow early in the winter season formed thick layers of ice on the tundra, making grazing plants inaccessible, a result of the warmer temperatures due to climate change.

[21][22] Røed,[23] using gel electrophoresis to analyze genetic variation in Svalbard reindeer compared to wild Norwegian reindeer, reported "unique alleles in the loci coding for transferrin and acid phosphatase for the two subspecies indicate that there has been no interbreeding in recent time" and estimated divergence 225,000 years ago, that is, during the interstadial before the last glacial maximum (LGM).

Besides the long isolation without interbreeding, despite likely opportunities to do so, Svalbard reindeer have several adaptation specific to their habitat in cold polar desert: they have much lower metabolic rates, whether standing or lying, than other reindeer, and are less energetic in terms of locomotion;[24] they accumulate unusual amounts of fat,[25] their fat metabolism lets them tolerate "lower critical temperatures" of −50 °C (−58 °F), compared to just −30 °C (−22 °F) in wild Norwegian reindeer; and they have adaptations to 24 hours/day darkness in winter, such as attenuated circadian rhythm and melatonin production, that are lacking or reduced in Norwegian reindeer, which enjoy a period of daylight even in midwinter.