Thousands of people cast their votes to choose the world’s first pangolin emoji design. The winning artwork is taking the next big step towards official emoji status.
South Africa (15 June 2026) – A few months ago, Pangolin.Africa set out to answer an important question. Why do we have emojis for unicorns, dinosaurs and even a dodo, but not a pangolin?
The organisation then went on to launch a campaign to get the world’s most trafficked mammal onto our smartphone keyboards. Alongside encouraging people to learn more about pangolins and boost awareness through online searches, Pangolin.Africa also invited designers to create what could become the world’s very first pangolin emoji.
Out of a shortlist of incredible designs, voters have now chosen a winner!
After receiving entries from talented designers and opening the competition up to the public, more than 3300 people cast their votes to choose a favourite.
The winning design comes from Cape Town graphic designer Yolise van Tonder, whose pangolin design will now be used in the campaign’s official submission to the Unicode Consortium – the group that decides which emojis make the cut.
“We are thrilled to officially crown our winning pangolin emoji design by Yolise van Tonder, a Graphic Designer from Cape Town.” shared Pangolin.Africa.
“A massive thank you to all the incredibly talented designers who submitted entries, and to every single one of you who voted, shared, and cheered us on…You didn’t just pick a design, you took a massive step toward putting pangolin conservation on smartphones worldwide.”
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Poaching Expedition in Kruger Takes an Unexpected Turn Thanks to a Herd of ElephantsWhile winning the design competition is a cause for celebration, the journey isn’t over just yet.
The next step is submitting the proposal to the Unicode Consortium, which reviews and approves new emojis for devices around the world. If successful, Yolise’s design could one day find itself sitting alongside the lion, elephant and rhino on millions of phones.
There’s still a way for the rest of us to help, too.
Unicode pays attention to public interest, and one of the ways that interest is measured is through online search activity. So if you’d like to help give the pangolin its best shot at emoji stardom, keep searching for pangolins, looking up Pangolin.Africa, visiting their website and learning more about these incredible creatures.
It might sound funny that a quick Google search could help get an emoji approved, but stranger things have happened. After all, we already have a unicorn emoji. Now it’s the pangolin’s turn.
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