True or False? Jane Goodall was the first person to study chimpanzees. False! Other scientists had studied chimps in zoos and laboratories, but Jane was the first to observe wild chimpanzees in the African forest. As a girl, her favorite stuffed animal was a chimpanzee named Jubilee. Before she became a scientist, she was a secretary. At first, other scientists didn't take her work seriously. But today, Jane is one of the most honored scientists in the world.