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)

Ellesse Janda welcomes a spring rainbow at Cresswell in Northumberland, United Kingdom on March 17, 2023. (Photo by Ian Sproat/Picture Exclusive)

Big waves approach the beach of Nazare, Portugal, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The high waves were caused by strong winds at one of the world's most popular surf spots. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Ballroom dancers Andrei Toader and Mia Linnik-Holden compete in the “North of England Amateur Ballroom Dancing” competition at the 49th British National Dance Championships, in the Empress Ballroom of Blackpool's Winter Gardens, in Blackpool, north-west England, on November 21, 2024. The four-day British National Dance Championships have been taking place since 1975 with dancers competing in Ballroom and Latin dancing disciplines. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, January 7, 2025. (Photo byh Ethan Swope/AP Photo)

Soldiers of the 70th division of the American 7th Army hold up a Nazi flag and a portrait of Adolf Hitler, taken during the World War II capture of Saarbrucken. (Photo by Horace Abrahams/Keystone/Getty Images). 22nd March 1945

Susanna Bauer was born in 1969 in Bavaria, Germany. She has lived in England since 1996. Susanna has worked for the television and film industry for over 16 years, making objects like King Arthur’s chalice, cheeses for Wallace and Gromit, miniature robots, spaceships and buildings.

A little boy shouts “Earthquake!” during a shouting contest, part of the annual evacuation drill on the National Disaster Prevention Day on September 1, 1986. The contest was aimed at teaching youngsters the importance of telling neighbors quickly and loudly of a disaster when it hits. The drill is annually conducted through out the country on the day marking the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake that hit the Japanese capital and its vicinity on September 1, 1923, killing more than 104,000 people. (Photo by Sadayuki Mikami/AP Photo)