Stampede

A stampede is an act of mass impulse among herd animals in which the herd collectively begins running with no clear direction or purpose. Stampedes are believed to originate from biological responses in the brains and endocrine systems of herd animals. The response is believed to have evolved to help animals escape predators.

A large stampede will frequently destroy anything in its way. In farmed animals, herd managers, sometimes called cowboys, attempt to turn the moving herd into itself, so that it runs in circles rather than self-destructing by running over a cliff or into a river, or from damaging human life or property by overrunning human settlements.