A Thai mahout and his elephant, both dressed as Santa Claus pass in font of a large photograph of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej following a Christmas event at a school in the world heritage city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, Thailand, 24 December 2015. The annual event is held to celebrate the Christmas season in the overwhelmingly Buddhist kingdom. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA)

Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers fly in formation during rehearsals for the Victory Day military parade, with St. Basil's Cathedral seen in the foreground, in central Moscow May 5, 2015. Russia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two on May 9. (Photo by Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters)

Participants of the the goth festival “Wave Gothic Festival” walk in fancy costumes along the festival area in Leipzig, central Germany, Saturday, May 23, 2015. About 20,000 members of the scene are expected to attend one of the world's largest gothic and “dark” culture festivals until May 25, 2015. (Photo by Jens Meyer/AP Photo)

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)

Technical staff take shelter as a helicopter takes off prior to the Nendaz Freeride skiing and snowboard competition, a Freeride World Tour Qualifier (FWQ) event, on the Mont Gond in Nendaz, Switzerland on March 21, 2018. (Photo by Valentin Flauraud/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Times Square was one of many NYC locations where thousands filled the crossroads of the world to celebrate the Biden/Harris election win over Donald Trump on Saturday, November 7, 2020. This couple was thrilled with the news reenacting the famous sailor nurse WW2 victory in Times Square kiss. (Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A leg of a “diablito” frog (Oophaga sylvatica) is photographed in a laboratory at a laboratory in the zoo of Cali, Colombia, on July 19, 2019. Colombia is the second country with the largest number of amphibians in the world after Brazil. More than 40% of amphibian species worldwide are in danger of extinction. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP Photo)

Moldova's Victor Ciobanu in action with Georgia's Dato Chkhartishvili during the men's 60kg semi final at the World Wrestling Olympic Games Qualifier in Sofia, Bulgaria on May 8, 2021. (Photo by Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)