(CNN) Residents of Canada's Roddickton-Bide Arm are used to seeing seals in town. Every winter, a few harp seals come ashore as waters freeze over -- but they're usually able to get back to the ocean on their own.

However, this year more than 40 harp seals have been stranded for over a week in the Newfoundland town, disrupting traffic, swarming backyards and blocking entrances to business, mayor Sheila Fitzgerald told CNN. Two of the animals were struck by a car and died, according to the mayor and CNN newsgathering partner CBC

"I've been here 25 years and I've never seen so many seals coming to town and stay," Fitzgerald said. "If they could have waddled to the ice edge they would've already done so. They're disoriented. And they need help to get out."

Few out for a crawl today pic.twitter.com/Qbb5pazTmD — Brendon FitzPatrick (@BrendonFitzPat3) January 6, 2019

Early in winter, harp seals keep moving between shifting ice sheets closer to the shore. But if the waters freeze up behind them, they become stranded and lose orientation, moving inland toward the forest, instead of waddling back to the ocean, Fitzgerald said.

"The more time goes by, the more difficult it would get for the seals to find their way to the ocean as the ice keeps freezing," she added.

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