A bolt of lighting strikes over Lewiston, Idaho, behind the Interstate Bridge that spans the Snake River into Clarkston, Wash., on the morning of Thursday, July 1, 2021. Multiple thunderstorms moved through the area on Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. (Photo by Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP Photo)

Multiple lightning strikes are seen in this 66 image composite taken over 1.5 hours during a monsoon in Bangkok, Thailand which took place overnight from October 29th to October 30th, 2024. The monsoon season in Bangkok normally lasts from July to October, making this one of the year's last major storms to hit the Thai capital. (Photo by Adryel Talamantes/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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)

Vietnam’s Son Doong cave, the largest in the world, could hold a 40-story skyscraper inside. The pristine ecosystem has its own river and jungle. Despite its size, Son Doong wasn’t discovered until 1991. It was lost again for nearly two decades and was fully explored for the first time in 2009. (Photo by Jason Speth/HuffPost)

A Black Pete interacts with children during the arrival of Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas, in Maassluis, Netherlands, Saturday, November 12, 2016. Sinterklaas and his helper Black Pete are at the center of a long-time controversy because Pete is often played by white people in blackface makeup. (Photo by Peter Dejong/AP Photo)

«Sing»

The story of 20 children born or living with illness or health conditions is being told by Toronto photographer and artist Shawn Van Daele, by transforming their drawings into magical photographs.

A waitress of The Palais de Tokyo restaurant wears a protective face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus in Paris, Saturday, September 5, 2020. New French cases of COVID-19 jumped in 24 hours to nearly 9,000, health officials said Friday. The 8,975 new cases were the highest number of infections since France successfully grappled with the spread of the coronavirus during a strict two-month lockdown. There were some 1,800 cases less a day earlier and more than for European neighbors. (Photo by Francois Mori/AP Photo)

Ivorian police officers of the Anti-Riot Brigade (BAE) contain the crowd during a performance by French rapper Okou Armand Gnakouri known as Kaaris during the Festival of Urban Music of Anoumabo (Femua) in Abidjan on April 28, 2019. The performance of French-Ivorian rapper Kaaris at the Festival of Urban Music of Anoumabo (Femua) in Abidjan escalated into violence after a crowd surge, causing some minor injuries, according to an AFP journalist at the concert. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)