A ceramic dog sleeps next to the gravesite of “Moses” at the Aspin Hill Memorial Park in Aspen Hill, Maryland August 25, 2015. Established in 1921, Aspin Hill contains the graves of more than 50,000 animals, from movies stars to WWI heroes to the dogs of former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. National Dog Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26. (Photo by Gary Cameron/Reuters)

A 42-day-old white bengal tiger cub (bottom), the first of its kind born in Peru, sleeps between toys as he is presented at the Huachipa's zoo in Lima on August 6, 2013. (Photo by Ernesto Benavides/AFP Photo)

This dyed straw is grown in Ban Dong Saen Suk, Sakon Nakhon province, Thailand on September 28, 2021. Sarawut Intharap, 38, an engineer who capture the image, said: “The straw is entwined together to make mats used for sleeping and eating and they are sold at around £2.50 (3.40 USD) a mat at the local market”. (Photo by Sarawut Intarob/Solent News)

Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj poses at the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute with this year's theme “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” in New York City, New York, U.S., May 6, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

A woman dressed as the Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy walks her dog dressed as the Cowardly Lion as they attend the annual Congressional Dog Costume Parade on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 27, 2021. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP Photo)

Suadar Oyunbold, age 5 runs from a Lion Dancer in Dublin City Farm at St Anne’s Park on January 9, 2023 to mark the launch of the programme for Dublin Lunar New Year which runs from 21-29 January. (Photo by Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times)

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)

An artist performs with a lion during the presentation of the new international show “Extreme arena” at the Ukrainian National Circus in Kiev, Ukraine, 15 September 2016. The show will be staged from 15 September to 11 December 2016. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA)