Question

In which scenario is gravitational potential energy present?

A rabbit looks out of a hole in the ground.
A squirrel runs up the trunk of a tree.
A deer runs across a grassy field.
A cat pins a mouse to the ground.

Answer 1

A squirrel runs up the trunk of a tree.

Gravitational potential energy depends on an object's height in a gravitational field (U = mgh). The squirrel gains height (and thus gravitational potential energy). Running across a field is mostly horizontal (no change in height), pinning a mouse to the ground doesn't increase its height, and the rabbit in a hole is not gaining height in the way the climbing squirrel is.