Conservation officers have tranquillized a bear that wandered into Ottawa's downtown ByWard Market neighbourhood after police shut down streets to deal with the furry visitor.

Police set up a perimeter around a "full-size black bear" sitting calmly in a tree in the market, around Dalhousie and Murray streets, and were asking people to avoid the area.

Video: Up close with the ByWard Market bear <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/CQBd7MI8Ip">pic.twitter.com/CQBd7MI8Ip</a> —@GiacomoPanico

The person who called 911 at about 3:20 a.m. ET said the bear had been following people.

After tranquillizing the bear, conservation officers from the National Capital Commission lowered it out of the tree on a rope with the help of firefighters.

Bear is now down from tree. Worker climbed ladder, tied a pulled rope around a limb and lowered it. <a href="https://t.co/YIXDlKtOlh">pic.twitter.com/YIXDlKtOlh</a> —@GiacomoPanico

The male bear, a 70-kilogram juvenile between 18 and 24 months old, was carried into a portable container and transported to a wooded area outside the city.

The NCC said it didn't know from which direction the bear had come, or how it apparently made it into the heart of the city before it was spotted.

Roads reopened shortly after the bear was removed.

A bear that was tranquilized in a tree in Ottawa's downtown ByWard Market was lowered to the ground with a rope and placed in a cage to be taken away. (Christian Milette/Radio-Canada)

On Thursday afternoon the NCC confirmed the bear had been tagged and released in "excellent shape."

The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BywardBear?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BywardBear</a> was in excellent shape when he was released. He’s now in the Lanark area forest. The juvenile male of about 70 kg now wears a yellow earring to identify him in case he is recaptured. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottawa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottawa</a> <a href="https://t.co/VpfDBw3SW6">pic.twitter.com/VpfDBw3SW6</a> —@NCC_CCN

In another incident this week, a bear was also spotted in the area around the Gatineau Hospital on Wednesday, leading police to ask people to stay inside as experts worked to trap it.

Police said the bear eventually walked away to a more suitable habitat.