A racegoer reacts to picking a winner in the first race on the third day of the Royal Ascot horserace meeting, which is traditionally known as Ladies Day, at Ascot, England Thursday, June 17, 2021. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)

Five-month-old baby elephant Fah Jam swims during a hydrotherapy treatment as part of a lengthy rehabilitation process to heal her injured front left foot at a rehabilitation center in Pattaya, Thailand January 5, 2017. The baby elephant was injured at three months old when she got stuck in an animal snare put up by villagers to prevent elephant intrusions in Chanthaburi province. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

A participant of the XIV International Ballet Competition prepares herself backstage before performing at the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

A red squirrel sniffs out nuts inside Christmas stockings as part of the festive celebrations and enrichment programme at Wildwood Escot Park in Ottery St Mary, Devon, United Kingdom on December 17, 2020. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)

A pod of white pelicans, one of the largest birds in Canada and the US, are seen on the shore of the Chapala lagoon in Cojumatlan de Regules, Mexico, on January 28, 2022. White pelicans travel thousands of kilometers migrating from the cold temperatures of North America. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz/AFP Photo)

“Artist Paula Swisher has come up with a quirky way of lessening the stress of household bills - by doodling highly intricate birds on each one. Swisher, 37, has drawn hundreds of birds in her lifetime and puts her love of ornithology down to the nature walks she went on as a youngster. Looking for work during the recession, she began sketching birds on the inside of books, seeing the practice as a creative way to mutate the pages into something fresh. But now she's made the transition from books to bills – while admittedly making a playful commentary on the predatory banking businesses”. – Caters News. (Photo by Paula Swisher/Caters News)

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)

A cat meows in it's owner's bag after fleeing from Kiev in Ukraine to Romania, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Siret, Romania, March 10, 2022. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)