Frantic steps made when animals panic (9)
I believe the answer is:
stampedes
'when animals panic' is the definition.
'frantic steps made' is the wordplay.
'frantic' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'steps'+'made'='stepsmade'
'stepsmade' anagrammed gives 'STAMPEDES'.
(Other definitions for stampedes that I've seen before include "Flights of frightened cattle" , "Wild headlong rushes of animals" , "Takes flight like frightened cattle" , "Headlong rush of crowds" .)