A wolf looks into the camera at the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the abandoned village of Orevichi, Belarus, March 2, 2016. What happens to the environment when humans disappear? Thirty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, booming populations of wolf, elk and other wildlife in the vast contaminated zone in Belarus and Ukraine provide a clue. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/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)

The legendary US photographer’s favourite shots of creatures and how they interact with humans feature in “Animals”, his latest book. Here: A boy rests against a cow, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2013. “Cows have been designated the national animal in Nepal. They roam freely, and are considered sacred by the 80% of Nepalis who are Hindu”. (Photo by Steve McCurry/The Guardian)

Zarnala is a female illustrator with a knack for anthropomorphic illustration, combining human and animal elements to create something altogether new. Unlike other forms of anthropomorphic art one can find out there though, her work always retains a tasteful, professional edge similar to the feel I get from comics like Juanjo Garnido's take on Blacksad. With an awesome watercolor themed approach to all her illustration work and her use of graphic shapes to frame her characters, at times it gives her art a strangely retro look that reminds one of the works of Norman Rockwell and JC Leyendecker. Check out more of her work after the break!

Randy Scott Slavin's photography is surrealism based in reality. His work portrays land and cityscapes in a 360 degree view, a perspective closer to that of the human eye than a 2D photograph, he says. Slavin's "Alternate Perspectives" is a series of photographs of a single location or landmark pieced together to create a 360 degree perspective in a flat image. The results are whimsical, and occasionally eerie, scenes that reflect the portion and scale of Slavin's surroundings when he took the photo.

Hu Shaoming is a fantastic artist from China, who has learnt Fine Arts at Guangzhou Academy. The most complex sculpture of all his works is a mechanical seahorse, constructed from many tiny details. The whole composition consists of two complete opposites, including the top part of the seahorse`s head that looks like a golden town, and the bottom which resembles an amazing blue creature. An important problem is reflected in such an idea; it shows how a man forces the nature into submission. The contrast in the opposition of the human buildings and conquered Mother Nature suggests the thought of keeping our natural environment safe.

A 19-year-old Japanese macaque monkey named Monday sneezes while suffering an allergy to pollen from the cedar tree, at Awajishima Monkey Center on March 26, 2012 in Sumoto, Hyogo, Japan. Some twenty monkeys are suffering the effects of hay fever at this time of the year, with the typical symptoms being the same as with humans. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

In his book “Side Effects”, aerial photographer Kacper Kowalski took to the skies to paint a portrait of the complex relationship between humans and nature. From the sky, he captured where nature and civilization collide into aesthetic, abstract colors and shapes. Photo: A view over fields of grain in Spring chamomile, cornflower and other weeds growing amongst the grain sprouts. (Photo by Kacper Kowalski/Panos Pictures)