Mother bear and two cubs captured near Chelsea, Que. schools

A mother bear and two cubs were spotted near two schools in Chelsea, Que. on Tuesday, the first day of classes. (MRC des Collines police)

Some unexpected guests showed up for the first day of school in Chelsea, Que. Tuesday morning.

A mother bear and two cubs and a raccoon were spotted near Chelsea and Montessori elementary schools.

MRC des Collines police officers were called to the site. They called in wildlife officers to help capture the bears.

A short while later, police said the mother bear was “now sleeping” and the fire department was called in to recover the cubs using a ladder.

"The Quebec Game Warden was called on site and they had to tranquilizer the mommy bear and the two cubs. But everything went well and the entire family will be relocated about 100 kilometres from the area," said Sgt. Martin Fournel.

The cubs were recovered safely. All three animals will be transported “several hundred kilometres” away from the two schools, police said.

It was a learning moment for the kids as they got back to school.

"The kids were so excited. And it was a perfect launching for talking about what bears are doing at this time of year and how they’re all up in the apples trees in the area The kids were so excited. And it was a perfect launching for talking about what bears are doing at this time of year. And how they’re all up in the apples trees in the area so that they can build up some stocks for winter hibernation," said Chelsea Elementary principal Andrea Gage.

There’s no word on what happened to the raccoon.

--With files from CTV's Dave Charbonneau.