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)

Aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker flies in the two-seat Oracle Extra airplane over downtown Chicago skyline, Wednesday, June 8, 2016. Tucker will perform before the start of of the America's Cup World Series racing on Saturday and Sunday. (Photo by Kiichiro Sato/AP Photo)

A view of the scene of a train accident after two commuter trains collided head-on near the town of Andria, in the southern region of Puglia, killing several people, Tuesday, July 12, 2016. (Photo by Luca Turi/ANSA via AP Photo)

Two models sit in an acrylic “ZF-Car” from the German manufacturer of the same name at the Automechanika automotive service industry trade fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 12 September 2016. The Automechanika Fair runs from 13 to 17 September 2016. (Photo by Boris Rössler/EPA)

Emergency responders respond to the scene of a 565-foot-tall crane that toppled and flipped upside down, stretching along nearly two city blocks in downtown Manhattan in New York, February 5, 2016. The massive construction crane collapsed in lower Manhattan during a swirling snowstorm on Friday, killing one person and crushing a line of parked cars in the first accident of its kind in New York City since 2008. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Expedition 44 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly seen inside the Cupola, a special module which provides a 360-degree viewing of the Earth and the International Space Station. Kelly is one of two crew members spending an entire year in space. (Photo by Scott Kelly/NASA)