Never had this before. Was in the Black Forest very close to the shoreline. It was a bright sunny day and the sea was calm as I fought off a group of Greydwarfs with my back to the water. I had just put an arrow into a 1-star Greydwarf and was taken aback by the loud shriek that came out of it. It was only as I swung around to fight the remainder in close combat that I saw my first Serpent - right behind me at the waters edge - and heard it shriek again as it's huge mouth opened just a few yards in front of me. Close enough to to swallow me whole, lol. I was gobsmacked. I put a bronze head arrow into it immediately after killing the last Greydwarf and that made it swim offshore a bit... before coming right back in at me again. I got a few more full-pull arrows into it as it came at me, and it died just short of the shoreline. So, got my first Serpent meat without a boat and without even getting my feet wet :) Has this always been possible (I've only killed the first boss)? Or is that kind of stuff a part of the recent update?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2525566580