I found on the zoo's updated website a bit of its future plans. It seems that the whole Giant Panda thing is a go, and groundbreaking should begin soon.
Breaking ground in winter 2008, the Oakland Zoo's new Australian Outback exhibit will be a one of a kind adventure thought the wilds of Australia aboard the Zoo's miniature train. Guests will ride through the
exhibit with no visible barriers between them and the Walaroo and Emu and discover the wonder of the world's smallest continent.
Breaking ground in late 2008, the Oakland Zoo will be part of a partnership with China, 9 years in the making, to participate in the research and breeding of the Giant Panda, one of the world's most endangered mammal species. This once in a lifetime chance to witness the Giant Panda in the Zoo's research center, exhibit, and holding facility will be a compelling way of teaching our guests the importance of saving the world's wild things.
In the coming years Oakland Zoo's California!, will be unlike any other park, preserve, exhibit or natural history museum in the world. The 40-acre project will recapture three of California's native ecological zones- grasslands, riparian woodlands, and oak woodlands - in the spectacular setting of Knowland Park, high above the San Francisco Bay. Guests will explore the new state of the art homes of Grizzly Bears, Mountain Lions, Wolfs, and other native California creatures.