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)

Norway's Karsten Warholm celebrates winning the men's 400m hurdles at the Diamond League in London, July 21, 2018. (Photo by Andrew Boyers/Action Images via Reuters)

Kacey Musgraves and Gigi Hadid attend the 53nd annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Charles Pulliam/Reuters)

Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret climbs during a training session in Verd, some 20 km southwest of Ljubljana, on March 27, 2024. The eight-time world champion is looking to win another gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games this summer, just like she did in Tokyo 2020 when the sport debuted at the Olympics. (Photo by Jure Makovec/AFP Photo)

Revelers take part in the Theatre Bizarre festival, a Halloween celebration that is returning in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., October 14, 2022. (Photo by Dieu-Nalio Chery/Reuters)

A pile of destroyed cars of teachers sits outside Briarwood elementary school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma May 22, 2013. Rescue workers with sniffer dogs picked through the ruins on Wednesday to ensure no survivors remained buried after a deadly tornado left thousands homeless and trying to salvage what was left of their belongings. Curvature of horizon in the photo is due to an ultra-wide angle lens. (Photo by Rick Wilking/Reuters)

A Lion-Tailed macaque holds a big block of ice with a mix of frozen vegetables and fruit at the zoo in Leipzig, central Germany, Friday, July 19, 2013. Weather forecasts predict sunny weather and warm temperatures for Germany in the next few days. (Photo by Jens Meyer/AP Photo)

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the father of the world's most popular assault rifle, is handed an AK-74 November 23, 2002 in Izhevsk,1000 East km. from Moscow. November 23 marked the 55th anniversary of the release of the first Kalashnikov gun. According to the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategic and Technologies some 70 million to 100 million Kalashnikovs have been built worldwide since 1947, compared about 7 million to Kalashnikov's Western rival the M-16 assault rifles. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)