A new high-tech Australian zoo wants to feed animals with drones

There are plans for a new zoo to be built in western Sydney, but first, students and technology buffs will get to hack it. Sydney Zoo, which is set to sit on a 16.5-hectare (40.8-acre) site in Bungarribee, is collaborating with Western Sydney University to make the animal park a high-tech experience, not only for the visitors but the animals. The zoo will host a range of native Australian fauna, as well as exotic creatures including elephants and chimpanzees. Sydney Zoo is expected to open in late 2017 pending development application approval from the New South Wales government, a spokesperson told Mashable Australia. It's not often that zoos and startups work together, but to come up with ideas for how anything from augmented reality to drones could be used on-site, the university is hosting a hackathon Friday.