PERTH (Australia), March 23 (RIA Novosti) - Rescuers and environmentalists are in a race against time to try and save a pod of over 80 whales and dolphins beached on a southwest Australian beach, local media said on Monday.

Just 25 of around 80 false killer whales and bottle nose dolphins are reported to be still alive at Hamelin Bay near the Margaret River, national media quoted the Western Australia Conservation Department as saying. Some 55 mammals are reported to have died.

"Our main priority is to ensure the welfare of the remaining alive whales before we herd them back out to sea," Greg Mair, the departmental officer leading the rescue was quoted by gmanews.tv.

Mair said that the conditions of the sea and the strength of the animals was crucial to the success of the rescue operation, "At present, ocean conditions are quite dangerous, with rough seas and large waves," adding, "We try to bring the live animals together as a group. Releasing single animals is rarely successful."

The latest incident comes after some 200 whales and dolphins were stranded on a beach in Tasmania earlier this month, and only 54 of them survived.