They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these striking images of 2017 are no exception. The photo highlights include incredible snapshots of the natural world as well as some awesome animal and human encounters. The vibrant gallery also shows thrill-seekers pushing themselves to the limit with breathtaking stunts captured in perfect clarity. The pictures have been taken by a host of photographers from around the world. Here: The two lion cubs singing their hearts out at Antelope park in Zimbabwe. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News Agency)

In this March 19, 2016 photo, Kay Pike transforms herself using body paint and latex into Superman while live streaming at her home in Calgary, Alberta. Pike refers to all her creations as her “little paint children”. She said it would be boring and lonely to do the painting without an audience. (Photo by Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)

“Business-class” cabins are seen at First Cabin hotel, which was converted from an old office building, in Tokyo, July 3, 2015. Record tourists to Japan are stretching the ability of hotels to accommodate them in a sector constrained by high costs, forcing developers to think out of the box for means to quickly increase lodging options without breaking the bank. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

A couple kisses in a central Barcelona street during the first night without the state of alarm, on 9 May, 2021 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The state of alarm that the Government decreed for the second time six months ago ended at 00.00 hours this Sunday, May 9. In Catalonia this has led to the fall of the curfew and the perimeter confinement of the Community. (Photo By Lorena Sopena via Getty Images)

In this photo provided by Greenpeace, clothes are left to dry on a typhoon damaged tree in Surigao City, southern Philippines on Monday December 20, 2021. The governor of a central Philippine province devastated by Typhoon Rai last week pleaded on radio Tuesday for the government to quickly send food and other aid, warning that without outside help, army troops and police forces would have to be deployed to prevent looting amid growing hunger. (Photo by Jilson Tiu/Greenpeace via AP Photo)

A deer walks across a pedestrian crossing in Nara, Japan, Thursday, March 19, 2020. More than 1,000 deer roam free in the ancient capital city of Japan. Despite the town's tourism decline, these wild animals are doing just fine without treats from tourists, according to a deer protection group. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

A model presents a creation from Dior's Cruise 2021 collection during a live-streamed runway show without an audience due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Piazza del Duomo, in Lecce, Italy on July 22, 2020. Christian Dior hosted a live but audience-free fashion show in the Italian city of Lecce, in a dazzling celebration of local crafts and traditions that included a dance spectacle in the middle of the baroque main square. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)

These heartwarming images capture the pure happiness of young children playing with a buffalo in the sweltering Indonesian heat on July 28, 2018. The children are all sons of the farmers who work on the rice farms in the West Java region of Indonesia. Amateur photographer Tamlikho Tam, 46 from Depok in West Java Indonesia snapped up the joyful moment because it shows what a typical childhood should be like without technology. (Photo by Tamlikho Tam/South West News Service)