Jamaica's Tissanna Hickling competes in the women's long jump qualification during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 19, 2023. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

Chase Jackson, of the United States, competes during the women's shot put qualification at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, August 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (Photo by Ashley Landis/AP Photo)

A bogieboarder rides a wave at the wedge in Newport Beach, Calif., Wednesday, August 27, 2014. Southern California beachgoers experienced much higher than normal surf, brought on by Hurricane Marie spinning off the coast of Mexico. (Photo by Chris Carlson/AP Photo)

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)

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)

Ellesse Janda welcomes a spring rainbow at Cresswell in Northumberland, United Kingdom on March 17, 2023. (Photo by Ian Sproat/Picture Exclusive)

A person holds an umbrella against strong wind and rain as he walks on a street Friday, June 2, 2023, in Kawasaki near Tokyo, as a tropical storm was approaching. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

Two ruddy shelducks fly under a double rainbow in Odisha, India in July 2022. These birds are ruddy shelduck, known locally as the Brahminy duck. They have a wingspan of between 43 and 53 inches and stand at a maximum of 28 inches tall. (Photo by Suman Das/Media Drum Images)