FT. WAYNE, Ind., April 18, 2000 – A peregrine falcon couple adopted by American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) have returned to their nesting box and are awaiting the arrival of four new offspring at their on-line home atop an AEP office building.

Roosevelt and his sweetie, Freedom, have been a twosome for four years. This is the second year the pair have made the 26th floor of the office building their home. The birds left the nest for the winter but returned last month.

A glimpse into the couple’s home life is available on FalconCam, an online project developed last year by AEP, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and nature conservancy groups, Soarin’ Hawk and the Audubon Society.

“It’s a nice surprise and bonus that Freedom and Roosevelt decided to remain in the region,” said Laura Edmunds, director of Soarin’ Hawk, a nonprofit service dedicated to the rescue, recovery and release of injured and orphaned birds of prey in northeast Indiana. “Adult birds of prey typically disperse during the winter,” Edmunds said.

Freedom, 7, and Roosevelt, 5, are expecting four new chicks during the next two weeks. The four offspring they produced last year left Ft. Wayne in August and probably headed south, Edmunds said.

“We are happy to welcome Freedom and Roosevelt home and hope they return to the nest for many years to come, said John Sampson, AEP president for Indiana and Michigan.

The large, dark birds, distinguishable by their thick, dark “mustache marks,” are federally protected and are on Indiana’s endangered species list. Their natural habitats include cliff ledges up to 12,000 feet, along rivers and lakes, and in open forests. In recent years, peregrines have started inhabiting large cities, perching on tall buildings reminiscent of those high perches.
Photographs of the birds are available on AEP’s World Wide Web site at http://www.aep.com/environmental/falcon/birdcam.asp. The site is updated every two minutes.

AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States´ largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.