We want a panda! We want a panda! Our cries to Gavin to pick us up one when he was in China went unheeded -- and now we've been stymied again! Oakland City Councilman-at-large Henry Chang has reluctantly admitted that he didn't actually manage to get Oakland a panda by Christmas this year, like he'd previously promised.

So it turns out Chang isn't anywhere close to raising the $8-10 million he needs to build an adequate panda enclosure for the Oakland Zoo -- apparently corporate sponsors were distracted by the tsunami and Katrina this year, and the Oakland China Wildlife Preservation Foundation's big fundraising dinner at the Oakland Arena didn't net nearly as much money as they thought it would. Chang promises he's still working on it, though.

Chang couldn't raise money for a panda bear in the Bay Area? We're the folks who spontaneously raised $24,000 for ducks and $120,000 for a bichon! Maybe part of the problem is that the link on the panda foundation's online donation page is broken. Come on, Henry -- help us help you! There's panda bears at stake here!

Excellently-photoshopped picture of Oakland panda from Henry Chang's website. Gratuitous cute picture of DCist's own Tai Shan (Butterstick) with his mommy from the Weekly Reader.