Yes and I've seen my cattle do the exact same thing. Once there was a fox, rabid, coming across a pasture and they all freaked out staring at it when we couldn't even see it because it was getting dark. Then they all ran the other direction, thankfully not going through the fence.
My little toy dog freaked them out once, they were trying to figure out what she was. So I had to pic her up to calm them down.
Animals are funny, the fight or flight instinct.
Maybe you need some wire mesh, the type they use to keep goats in because they walk right through barb wire like it's not even there.