Safari experience for SA's Monarto Zoo

Visitors will get up close and personal with lions and camp in safari-style accommodation under plans to transform South Australia's zoos.

Zoos SA has launched its 20-year vision for Adelaide Zoo and the open-range Monarto Zoo in the state's south east.

Thrill-seekers at Monarto Zoo will have the chance to go face-to-face with lions at the zoo's proposed "predator experience" enclosure.

Visitors will also be able to camp with the animals overnight in bush cabins or luxury tents, before heading off on an early morning safari tour.

The zoo hopes to add elephants, maned wolves and nyala (spiral-horned antelopes) to its African Savannah precinct, while also displaying more native species.

Adelaide Zoo will look to introduce endangered lowland gorillas, while adding a nature playground, an interactive meerkat exhibit and aerial walkways.

Zoos SA chief executive Elaine Bensted says the new developments will be carefully staged to minimise disruption and keep the zoos' finances on a sustainable footing.