A bear that was loose in Essex County caused some schools to keep students inside for a time.

The black bear was spotted around 1 p.m. Thursday around Church Street in Montclair. Animal control officers, as well as officials from the state DEP and Division of Fish and Wildlife, were called to take control of the bear.

Hillside Elementary School was forced to keep students inside for short time for safety. The bear was about 30 feet up in a tree close by.

Animal officials shot the bear with a tranquillizer dart, but the bear was not knocked out right away. The bear climbed down from the tree and took off.

It was next seen in the area of Trinity Place. Montclair police made sure the area was clear of people and the bear was shot a second time with a dart.

The second dart knocked out the bear, and wildlife officials tagged the bear and took some samples. The bear is reportedly about 2 years old and weighed about 107 pounds.

A few hours later another small black bear was spotted in Scotch Plains. It too was tranquilized.

Both bears will be relocated to less-populated areas.