Arabian Saluki dogs chase a lure during a race at the Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival in the desert near the city of Madinat Zayed, 150 kms west of Abu Dhabi, on December 26, 2017. The festival, which attracts participants from around the Gulf region, includes a camel beauty contest, a display of UAE handcrafts and other activities aimed at promoting the country's folklore. (Photo by Karim Sahib/AFP Photo)

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)

A pole-dancing robot built by British artist Giles Walker performs at a gentlemen's club Monday, January 8, 2018, in Las Vegas. The event was held to coincide with CES International. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

A Pegasus airplane is seen stuck in mud as it skidded off the runway after landing in Trabzon Airport, Turkey early Sunday on January 14, 2018. A passage plane which belongs to Turkey's Pegasus Airlines skidded off the runway of Trabzon airport Saturday and ended up halfway down a steep slope into the Black Sea, Turkish media reported on Sunday. 162 passengers and crew on board were safely evacuated. (Photo by Hakan Burak Altunoz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A person enter in sauna on the peak of Mount Lagazuoi in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy January 16, 2018. Picture taken January 16, 2017. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

A masked participant carries a burning matress during the ancient carnival of Zubieta, in the northern Spanish Navarra province on January 30, 2018. The yearly three day festivities, revolving mainly around agriculture and principally sheep hearding, run on the last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of January where Navarra Valley locals from two villages dress up and participate in a variety of activites as they perform a pilgrimage through each village. (Photo by Ander Gillenea/AFP Photo)

Girls dressed in Soviet WWII uniforms of traffic control officers as Russian President Vladiimir Putin lays a wreath in the Hall of Military Glory of the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory in the battle in Volgograd, Russia on February 2, 2018. The battle between Nazi troops and the Soviet Army was a major pivotal moment in the Great Patriotic War and World War II. (Photo by Mikhail Metzel/TASS via Getty Images)

Women take part in an annual block party known as “Banda do Candinho e Mulatas” (Candinho Band and Mulatto Women), during carnival festivities at Bixiga neighbourhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 7, 2018. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)