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)

“Red Arrows” at the 2016 royal air tattoo, RAF Fairford, UK. By Jonny Williams, finalist: action. (Photo by Jonny Williams/UK National Geographic Traveller Photography Competition 2018)

Melissa Stewart's team competes in the official restart of the Iditarod, a nearly 1,000 mile (1,610 km) sled dog race across the Alaskan wilderness, in Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S. March 6, 2017. (Photo by Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters)

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)

Gray whale feeding at the surface and showing it's baleen. (Photo by Christopher Swann/Biosphoto)

Jellyfish with a juvenile imperial blackfish (Schedophilus ovalis) in Castellammare di Stabia, Naples, Italy, winter 2023. (Photo by Marco Gargiulo/Media Drum Images)

Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka in action with AFC Bournemouth’s Bafode Diakite in Sunderland, UK on November 29, 2025. (Photo by Scott Heppell/Reuters)

“Hiding In The Shadows”. This Baby Sandhill taking refuge under Moms wings while sitting on her second egg. I witnessed this baby being born earlier that day,and the next morning saw the other one hatch,what a sight to see. Photo location: Deland, Florida. (Photo and caption by Scott Helfrich/National Geographic Photo Contest)