A wounded protester is attended before being rushed to a vehicle following violence in Independence Square in Kiev February 20, 2014. Ukrainian protesters seized back Kiev's Independence Square in fresh clashes with riot police on Thursday that left several injured and possibly two demonstrators dead. (Photo by Konstantin Chernichkin/Reuters)

A Dongria tribe girl holds her traditional weapon and dance on the last day of their two days long Niyamraja Festival atop of the Niyamgiri hills near Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, Orissa state. (Photo by Biswaranjan Rout/AP Photo)

Julian Rodriguez, of Everson, Wash., holds his two-gram packet of recreational marijuana outside Top Shelf Cannabis, Tuesday, July 8, 2014, in Bellingham, Wash., on the first day of legal sales in the state. (Photo by Ted S. Warren/AP Photo)

Two Scottish shorthair cats dressed with red hats are pictured during a cat exhibition in Bishkek, on October 16, 2016. Cat lovers from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan took part in the exhibition. (Photo by Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP Photo)

Paramedics care for a woman who is ill after the Geelong Cup on Geelong Cup day at Geelong Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, 19 October 2016. The Geelong Racing Club was founded in March 1865 at a public meeting at the British Hotel. The first Geelong Cup was held in 1872 over a distance of two miles. (Photo by Tracey Nearmy/EPA)

Some two thousand runners dressed as Santa Claus make their way through Clapham Common during The London Santa Dash, to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, Britain December 4, 2016. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

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 May 31, 2016 photo, pieces of watermelon litter the trash area of the Coche public market in Caracas, Venezuela. Staples such as corn flour and cooking oil are subsidized, costing pennies at the strongest of two official exchange rates. But fruit and vegetables have become an unaffordable luxury for many Venezuelan families. (Photo by Fernando Llano/AP Photo)