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)

Army paratroopers carry the casket of Private Howard at the Wellington Cathedral on December 21, 2010 in Wellington, New Zealand. Private Howard was serving with the British army when was killed by friendly fire from a US Air Force plane in Helmand Province, Afghanistan earlier this month. Private Howard is the fifth NZ-born soldier to be killed in action in Afghanistan. (Photo by Marty Melville/Getty Images)

Photographers gather to take pictures of pilot Andre Borschberg (C) ahead of the take off of Solar Impulse 2-a solar powered plane- in Nanjing, China, May 31, 2015. The world's largest solar-powered airplane, Solar Impulse 2, took off from eastern China's Nanjing on Sunday to continue its round-the-world voyage. The Swiss-made plane left Nanjing's Lukou International Airport at 2:39 in the early morning, with former fighter pilot Borschberg at the controls alone for the entire 8,200-kilometer flight from Nanjing to Hawaii, the toughest leg of its marathon adventure. (Photo by Reuters/Solar Impulse)

Ethiopian Airlines female pilots prepare the plane before takeoff at Bole international airport in the capital Addis Ababa, November 19, 2015. Ethiopia Airlines on Thursday, dispatched its first ever all-female operated flight. Every aspect of the journey was handled by women, from the ground crew, aircraft maintenance to traffic controllers. Gualu and her co-pilot were charged with flying the crew and passengers to Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

A plane is buffeted by the wind as it comes in to land at Leeds Bradford Airport as as flights were cancelled and commuters were warned they faced delays as winds reached nearly 90mph when Storm Doris battered many part of Britain. Thursday February 23, 2017. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Wire via AP Photo)

A pilot looks up from a U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter as it prepares to refuel in mid-air with a KC-135 refuelling plane over European airspace during a flight to Britain from Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania April 25, 2016. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A passenger plane comes into land over a field containing horses at Heathrow Airport on August 11, 2014 in London, England. Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest in the world. The airport's operator BAA wants to build a third runway to cope with increased demand. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shine over the plane wreck of a US Navy airplane – a Douglas Super DC-3 – on the Black Beach in Solheimasandur, south Iceland on January 18, 2018. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)