The story about Kumiko Tsuchida was reported in The Times and The Guardian in June 1997. But do you really think it is true? Of course I think it is possible because a lot of people around the world help animals that are in danger because a lot of pollution into their natural environment.
Is it possible someone could travel two or three hours on a train and really think they had arrived in Turkey? Maybe because some people do not have the opportunity to travel a lot they do not have the experience and they could get confuse.