Long Beach Wildlife

Last night, I had my first run-in with a wild animal in the backyard. I sent Bunsen out one last time before bed and could hear him jumping up and scratching the wood fence. I assumed it was a cat, since he'll keep jumping at the fence long after a cat has scrambled away, but it wasn't. I could only see black and white in the darkness and was afraid it was a skunk; then my eyes adjusted and I saw the rat tail of an opossum. I had to lure Bunsen away while maintaining my distance (I didn't want it jumping on me if I got close to pick up the dog), and expected it would leave once we were gone. But instead, it stayed perched on top of the fence--the wood, mind you, not the presumably more comfortable foot-wide cinderblock behind--long after we were gone and the lights were out. Creepy!