An activist of the anti-G8 forum “Block G8” shows his middle finger to a police helicopter passing overhead June 07, 2007 at Bollhagen, near Heiligendamm, Germany. (Photo by Carsten Koall/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)

People dressed as Santa Claus dance during an event as a part of Christmas celebrations in Chennai on December 22, 2024. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP Photo)

French actress Sophie Marceau and Irish actor Pierce Brosnan in film “The World is Not Enough” by Michael Apted, 1999. (Photo by Keith Hamshere/Sygma via Getty Images)

A Pakistani Hindu woman lights candles during Diwali celebrations at a local temple in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, November 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism's most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (Photo by K. M. Chaudary/AP Photo)

This combination of August 30, 2005 and July 29, 2015 aerial photos shows downtown New Orleans and the Superdome flooded by Hurricane Katrina and the same area a decade later. Katrina's powerful winds and driving rain bore down on Louisiana on August 29, 2005. The storm caused major damage to the Gulf Coast from Texas to central Florida while powering a storm surge that breached the system of levees that were built to protect New Orleans from flooding. (Photo by David J. Phillip/Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

A child plays beside an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, the day after it was immersed in the Yamuna river for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Delhi, India September 6, 2017. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

Women carry pitchers after filling them with water from a hand pump to their houses in Thane district in the western state of Maharashtra, India, May 30, 2019. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)