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)

The rabbit population of San Juan Island, brought in to feed lighthouse keepers, got so big that in the 1930s foxes were introduced to kill them. Although they are red foxes, their coats can be orange, silver, black or multi-coloured. Picture date: September 2023. (Photo by Jun Zuo/Solent News)

Karis, an eleven week old lion cub, plays in fallen leaves brushed up by keepers in her enclosure at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling, Scotland, on November 20, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

A giant panda cub is pictured in an incubator at the Ya'an Bifengxia Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Ya'an city, southwest China's Sichuan province, 21 August 2015. Ten tiny panda cubs made their first public appearance at China's Ya'an Bifengxia Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in southwestern Sichuan province on Friday (21 August 2015). All of the ten giant pandas were born in 2015. The oldest of them is just two month old, while the youngest one was born a week ago. This marks the first time they were put together as a group since they were born. (Photo by Imaginechina/Splash News)

Leo, an orphaned Sumatran orangutan, is taken to the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme rehabilitation centre. Leo will join other orangutans who have been reintroduced to the Pinus Jantho nature reserve. The SOCP has gradually formed a completely new wild population of species that have been threatened with extinction. (Photo by Sutanta Aditya/Barcroft Images)

A male deer barks at dawn during the annual deer rutting season at Richmond Park in London, Britain, October 9, 2016. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A dog stands inside a voting booth as people vote during European Parliament and municipal elections, in Budapest, Hungary, on June 9, 2024. (Photo by Marton Monus/Reuters)

Birds sit on the back of a zebra in the Nairobi National Park, near Nairobi, Kenya, November 21, 2018. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)