The fourth annual BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition aims to celebrate the diversity of life on Earth, and encourages people to protect and conserve it. Here: “The Salmon Catchers”. Terrestrial Wildlife. To capture this view of a mother grizzly bear and her cub, photographer Peter Mather set up a camera trap on a log that he knew the bears tended to traverse while fishing for salmon, in the Yukon River watershed in Canada. (Photo by Peter Mather/BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition 2017)

American model and television personality Kendall Jenner arrives at The Fashion Awards 2018 In Partnership With Swarovski at Royal Albert Hall on December 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Denmark's forward #10 Pernille Harder celebrates scoring her team's first goal during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup Group D football match between Haiti and Denmark at Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth on August 1, 2023. (Photo by Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters)

An eight-year-old St Bernard with the longest canine tongue in the world, measuring 18.58cm (7.31in) in length, as recorded by the Guinness World Records: Amazing Animals, in South Dakota, USA. (Photo by Kevin Scott Ramos/GWR/PA Wire)

These girls are all smiles as they celebrate surviving A-level results day in Birmingham, England on August 15, 2019. The A Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom. (Photo by SnapperSK/SnapperMS)

In this photo provided by World Press Photo, the 1st Prize Daily Life Single of the 2011 World Press Photo Contest by Omar Feisal, Somalia, Reuters, shows a man carrying a shark through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, September 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Omar Feisal/Reuters)

Chocolate is the greatest gift the Earth has given us. The dessert table would be a sad sight without it. It’s so beloved, so appreciated, that the Swedish scientist who named the cocoa plant that gives us chocolate called it Theobroma cacao, which means “food of the gods”. Here: Farmer holding a freshly cut cocoa bean pod, revealing the pulp and seed inside on a rainforest farm. (Photo by Doug McKinlay/Getty Images)

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)