They were wearing masks, but they weren’t bad guys.
In fact, they needed some help.
Two state troopers rescued three baby raccoons sitting in the middle of Route 5 in the Western Massachusetts town of Hatfield on Wednesday, State Police said.
Troopers Jason Yagodzinski and Robert Wyckoff saved the raccoons from possibly being run over by a vehicle, said Dave Procopio, spokesman for the State Police.
Yagodzinski moved the raccoons onto the grass at the side of the highway, Procopio said, while Wyckoff went home to get his own cat carrier to place the raccoons inside.
After the raccoons moved over into some weeds, Wyckoff put on welding gloves and placed them into the cat carrier. The troopers then took the animals to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist in Wendell.
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The specialists said the babies were siblings and malnourished, most likely due to being orphaned.
Procopio said he believes the parents died from developments being constructed in their area, and the babies were displaced.
“One theory is that their hole was in that area [of construction],” Procopio said. “They may have been displaced from their home.”
He said the specialists will nurse them back to health and eventually release them.
Rebecca Fiore can be reached at rebecca.fiore@globe.com.