WHO WAS SUMBEE???

         Tumursukh.J's oldest son Sumbee was born on April 6th, 1988, in Ikh-Tamir sum, Arkhangai province. In 2006, he attended the National University of Mongolia and graduated in 2010 as a biologist/zoologist. Sumbee started working with the Snow Leopard Trust team since 2010 and had become a treasured member of the expeditions on Snow Leopards in South Gobi province. He was a young promising researcher who hailed from the water-rich Khuvsgul province but had taken to the arid Gobi desert as his second home. Coming from a family with deep connections with nature, he was a natural with all the new tasks he undertook.

Sumbee and locals (South Gobi locals) had protested against all mining companies around the Tost Mountain to stop their operations, otherwise, that wildlife is in danger to go extinct if you demolish their homeland. it's their homeland, their only homeland where that wildlife can live and survive. For that reason it was Sumbee's main goal to protect that wildlife and it's habitat areas from any harm. 
Sumbee was not from a wealthy family with behind the scene power, not a high official who has some authority powers, nor a man who is easily shaken by a worthless threat. 
He was a man who loved the Mother Nature dearly, raised by a family with great appreciation to nature, wanted to protect and inherit this great land to his next generation and generations after that. 
He was planning to study at Cambridge University, England in 2016.

All sources credited to Uncensored Talk TV show

Shinehvv, Director of Gurvantes Non-profit Organization

Sumbee genuinely loved this land, loved its wildlife and rivers, mountains and everything. He cared about it so much, more than us locals who live in the area. Once we had no snow in the winter, the ibex and other wildlife had a hard time finding water. He knew that that wildlife is having a hard time, he and his team members requested some help from an official of the micro-state that if they are able to send some written requests to those mining companies around the neighborhood to help them to bring some ice for that wildlife. The mining companies agreed to help and helped them to bring some ice closer to the snow leopard and other wildlife habitat areas. Since it is such a rocky mountain, big mining trucks were not able to go all the way up to the mountain, Sumbee and his team carried each approximately weighed 20lb ices up to the mountain for wildlife, therefore, they can survive in the winter.

He always told me that he will do everything in his power to protect this land and its wildlife. Not that many people can do what Sumbee did, and on top of that he is not from here but what Sumbee had done for this place came from a pure genuine love for this land’s Mother Nature and a deep passion to protect this land and wildlife. If you are not going to call him a true fighter, I don’t know who else I can call a fighter. As he told me that he will do everything for this land, he did it, he did it for sure. 

Lkhagvasuren - local herdsman 

I don’t think anybody from my hometown will do any harm for him, because we all adore him dearly, we think like him as our son. I just think that he lost his precious life because of some facts that he revealed and fought with those mining companies. Not only I, my fellow herdsmen and locals think the same. He lost his precious life protecting our land, our future, and our wildlife. Our land had been destroyed so much because of all those mining companies, they had overturned our land so much that they wanted to take all those subsoils, and we have been fighting for these issues for a while.

Sumbee's father Tumursukh Jal  

I’m so proud of my son for what he had done and acknowledged by all those people. This short video is a proof that my son is so brave, passionate, selfless, and hardworking, just take a look at this video that my son is carrying this huge bucket of water on his back, on top of that he is using his 2 hands to carry extra bulk of ice, it shows what my son’s true self is.  

Mijid.A –SLCF, on site driver. (Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation)

Sumbee is so lovable, when it’s raining or snowing, he gets so excited and thinks like it brings him luck. And even though it’s so cold and snowing, he will go outside roll on the snow with no shirt and play with it, just get so excited. He loved being outdoors.

Oyungerel - Chef of SLCF at Gurvantes, South-Gobi.

He doesn’t like when it gets too hot, Mijid (driver) would light up a fire a little bit to make a home warmer, Sumbee would open the door and get some fresh air. Since they worked so close for a long time, even though they have a big age gap, they would be as good friends, play around with themselves.

Narantsetseg.S mother of Sumbee

When he is here home at Hatgal, Huwsgul for a short time in summer, he would always talk about South-Gobi. When it’s raining here, he will get excited that it’s raining in Gobi as well and tell us that his ibex and leopards in South Gobi will have some rain waters, and would tell us that it gets so pretty in Gobi in the summertime, with all pretty flowers are blooming and rain water streams down from the mountain and it has just such a beautiful land. He would tell all so many that times that we can imagine what he is saying in our eyes without being there.

Purevjav.L-Expert research manager at SLCF

I’ve been working with Sumbee for 5-6 years. During this time, he has become the most valuable member of our SLCF team. His character is, very hardworking, very sociable, very reliable, very sincere, very punctual when it comes to completing a given task, everybody at work and locals adore him, he and locals have mutual respect to each other, never had a problem dealing with all local people and listens to their problems patiently, always seeks to find better ways to connect and improve local and SLCF’s cooperation on projects.

Byambejav.Ts -The driver of Snow Leopard Trust

He is a very polite young lad and nice to everybody, always listens to elders well and takes our advice seriously. He is very punctual, keeps his word, if he says he’ll do it, he will get it done no matter what, since he gave his word.

Baatar.S –Herdsman of Tost sum

He is very responsible and reliable, really good at what he does, and great manners.  

Chimgee. L-Herdsman of Tost sum

He is the one of a kind young lad. I don’t know anybody like Sumbee, he is so selfless, he will help us to find lost livestock, even though it has nothing to do with him, he just does everything from his heart.