Out here in southern California, I have had to deal with skunks, possum and racoons. Skunks I don't think climb tree and you want to back away carefully from them. Possum look like a giant rat with a long tail. When we had one removed from a storage shed, they do act dead as the animal control personal brought it out by holding it's tail. Racoons can move very quickly and are the nastiest of the three. They have a distinctive fluffy furry body with a very pointed nose. Couldn't believe it but they move as fast as cats running along the top of fencing.